what we can to work together to ensure people are safe in their schools, that our children are safe, that their educators are safe and that our neighborhoods and public spaces and our houses of worship, all throughout or communities, and to my colleagues in the connecticut delegation and especially to mr. murphy who represents newtown, my thoughts and prayers are with each of you during this really difficult and incomprehensible time. but be assured that as a member of congress, i'm going to work with you, i'm going to continue to pray with you, and i'm going to make certain that this doesn't happen again because we have an obligation, we know what our to-do list is and we have only to do it before year's end and with that i yield. . mr. murphy: i yield to the gentleman from new york, mr. engel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel: mr. speaker, i have been to newtown, connecticut,

and it's less than an hour's drive from my congressional district. we mourn all the people who lost their lives on friday, including 20 elementary school children and six educators. over the past few years, we have seen innocent lives lost to gun violence in a supermarket parking lot in arizona, a movie theater in colorado, an army base in texas, a college campus in virginia and now an elementary school in connecticut. the weapons have spawned these tragedies and long past time that we control them. the second amendment guarantees the right to bear arms but does not guarantee an absolute right to military-style, high caliber, semi-automatic, combat-assault rifles with high capacity

magazines to anybody who wants them. it just does not and must not let interest groups persuade us otherwise. we need restrictions and sensible gun control legislation. we need them here and we need them now. our children are counting on us and we really need to not let them down. i yield back. mr. murphy: i yield 1:30 to the gentlelady from california, ms. esh -- eshoo. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. eshoo: i thank the gentlelady from connecticut. there have been many heart -wrenching tributes this evening. on behalf of my constituents in the 14th congressional district in california, i hope that our

words and our prayers and also our future actions will be a source of comfort to the parents of the victims and to the community of newtown, connecticut. it is appropriate that we offer our prayers and our sympathy, but that's not enough. that is not enough. it is in this chamber and in this congress we're together. we can indeed make the changes that the american people in their and wish are looking for. i can't help think of the words of you lincoln's gettysburg address when he said the nation will long remember what we say here but it will never forget what which did here. it is us to be dead cailted here

to their great unfinished work. the massacre of these angels should really inspire us to take on the job of what really needs to be done in this country. will we be able to resolve every last problem that violence has brought about in this country? i doubt that. can we take great steps to avoid that has taken place knee shopping malls, in theaters, on college campuses and now the little angels go to school? i pledge not only to my constituents to the connecticut delegation, to the people of our country, that i will do everything possible to help resolve this. we know they are living in the sight of almighty god, but our work is truly our own but will

be the work of god that will guide us and i believe that. and i yield back. mr. murphy: i yield 1:30 to the gentlelady from california, ms. chew. ms. chu: this friday, an unimaginable horror happened. 20 beautiful children ages six and seven were gunned down in cold blood and six adults died trying to save these children's lives. my heart breaks for these families and i send any deepest sympathies to the newtown community and all who are struggling through this unthinkable tragedy. sandy hook has made clear, that we aren't doing enough to protect the public from deadly weapons, that we aren't doing enough to address mental health issues in our society, that we aren't doing enough to stand up

to those who are saying that more guns, not less, are the solutions to mass shootings. this must change. for the sake of our children, i say, enough is enough. congress must act to put a stop to this senseless gun violence. mr. murphy: i thank the gentlewoman. i yield 1:30 to the the gentlelady from california, ms. matsui. ms. matsui: i pay tribute to the victims who were struck down in new toup, connecticut and condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless act of violence that claimed their lives. there are so many victims were young children who had their entire lives ahead of them. makes the shooting even more heart wrenching.

the children were so young. we saw in each of them our own children, our grandchildren. they really are america's children. jack pinto, the same age of my grandson, he was a huge new york giants' fan and today was buried in a giants' jersey. and noah pozner, who is also 6, whose best friend, twin sister, avielle, who was in another class and survived. though, i'm sure she felt she lost her other self. these children were truly innocent. mostly knowing in their short lives just joy and little about the brutality in this world until they experienced it

firsthand on friday. what gives us hope was there was also love and bravery in the educators and first responders who acted. we will remember them and pledge that their spirit will be our guiding light to act, to protect our children and our community. i yield back. mr. murphy: i thank the gentlewoman. at this time, i yield 1:30 to the gentleman from florida, mr. deutch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. deutch: i thank my friend from connecticut. i rise tonight to join all americans in grieving for the innocent children and brave adults slaughtered at sandy hook elementary school last friday.

what happened is every parents' worst nightmare. every parent who sends their child to school takes a leap of faith that he or she will be home that night for a hug, a family dinner, or a kiss good night. for my wife and our three children are the center of our lives. words cannot express the sorrow that we feel, that all americans feel for the families whose children were so viciously taken away. the american people are united in greff. a national conversation will take shape on how to make our nation a little bit safer and we must remain united. never mind that some will feel threatened by this conversation and some will try to stop it. this crime was driven by unspeakable evil. nothing should stop us from speaking out.

more than that, nothing should stop us from taking action. by preventing another massacre, by stopping this rampage in gun violence, we will honor the memory of every six and seven-year-old child and every brave member of the sandy hook community we mourn this evening. please, please let us do more than just talk and give speeches. let us come together to act to make america safer. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. murphy: i yield 1:30 to the the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. mr. cicilline: on behalf of all the residents of my home state of rhode island, i extend my profound sympathies to our neighbors in newtown, connecticut. as we stand here this evening mourning the innocent victims of this horrific massacre, our hearts ache for the parents and

families who endured an indescribable loss. we share in the vital and solemn responsibility to protect our children, our families and our neighborhoods. as the men, women and children of new toup join together to comfort one another to overcome the anguish and sorrow, they should know that an entire country is by their side extending their prayers and love and committed to ack. the senseless cruelty and unspeakable violence that was inflicted and took the lives of these precious angels has changed our nation forever. we honor the acts of bravery. we celebrate the lives even those short from those who lost and we now must embrace our solemn duty and moral responsibility to take action and honor the memory of the lost angels. they deserve nothing less.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. murphy: i thank the gentleman, i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from michigan. mr. curson: my grandson stood here with me when i took my oath of office one of the proudest moments of my life. just moments before this horrible act took place, michigan's lame duck legislators allowed persons to bring concealed firearms into schools, college dorms, churches, hospitals, bars and sports stadiums. firearms have absolutely no place in our schools. the tragic massacre at sandy hook is a chilling and heartbreaking reminder of this. last week, innocent children,

babies, went to school to a safe place where they loved to be. six public servants went to school to the children they loved almost as much as their own. those six died trying to save those precious gifts. 20 of those babies were savagely murdered. we witnessed this who are endous murders before at virginia tech, 16 murdered at the university of texas as austin, 13 students and faculty murdered at columbine. i support reasonable gun ownership. senate bill 59 is now sitting on governor snyder's desk. in the spirit of this resolution, i will ask the governor on behalf of my grandchildren, on behalf of all michigan children, that he uses power veto and not sign that bill. thank you.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. murphy: i yield 1:30 to the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. scott: thank you very much. ladies and gentlemen of the congress, you know the lord jesus said that suffer the little children that come unto me for they are the kingdom of heaven. but jesus didn't stop there. he spoke and then he acted. he brought the children to him. picked each child up in his arms. put his hand on them. prayed with them and then blessed on them. and just as jesus spoke and acted, the people of this country are expecting this congress to speak, but to act. and the first order of business

is to make sure that this kind of tragedy never happens again. the first order of business is to ban, to make illegal, to own, manufacture or sell or possess this deadly weapon that was used to massacre these 20 children and these six educators that this bushmaster assault weapon, if we are going to -- just to honor those children who were massacred, make sure that that weapon will never be used again. if we do not do that in this

congress, we need to hang our heads in shame. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. murphy: may i inquire as to how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: 14 minutes. mr. murphy: i yield 1:30 to the gentleman from michigan, mr. clark. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. . . mr. clarke: mr. speaker, of all the horror this country has had to endure, there's something else that's strategyic -- that's tragic. and that is too many times someone who is mentally ill can only get treatment once they're

arrested and locked up. treating the mentally ill only when they request it prison, it doesn't make sense -- only when they go to prison, it doesn't make sense. it costs too much money and many times that treatment comes too late. so i'm asking this house and this congress this week to protect all of the funding for mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment, protect all of the funds from across the board d cuts that fiscal cliff. a result of the but i also ask all of us as americans to finally end the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse so that those who need treatment will no longer feel ashamed to seek it. thank you and i yield back my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. murphy: i thank the gentleman. i'd yield at this point 1 1/2 minutes to the gentlelady from california, mrs. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i certainly want to thank my colleagues from connecticut for the way in which they've really conducted themselves through this horrific tragedy that the whole country has experienced. mr. speaker, i really just came to sit and listen. and to be here to support my colleagues. but i did want to say a few words because i had an opportunity to speak with the press in san diego over the last few days and i'm really almost haunted by the question that i was asked which was, isn't this just all going to go away? you know, people will get on with their lives and a period of time will commence and maybe something else horrible will happen again. so what is that we can do -- is

it that we can do? i think it is a collective responsibility. it is certainly all of our responsibility. the president i believe has to take the lead and he has begun to do that. but we also have to reach out to our entire communities and i know that there are differences throughout this country. of course there are. it's not even so much partisan differences, it's geographic in some cases. it's the way people have chosen to live and their backgrounds and what they do. but i think that we would be pretty surprised if we had the kinds of meetings throughout this country, so we allow that conversation to take place. because parents throughout my district and i know throughout the district of all of my colleagues want to say something about how we can do better. i believe we can. and if we can't, you know, then what are we about? so i think -- i thank the president for his comment i

thank my colleagues because i wonder, could i have reresponded as well as they have? and i certainly express my profound sorrow to the families who are enduring the unthinkable. we are all parents and grandparents here and we do identify and we want to make a difference. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. -- the gentlelady's time has expired. mr. murphy: at this point i'd yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for three minutes. mrs. maloney: i thank my wonderful colleague and dear friend for yielding to me. i congratulate him on his election to the united states senate. and for responding so beautifully to his constituents and to all of us in response to the terrible tragedy that happened. after the unfathomable tragedy, there is a growing determination and consensus that there has to be change. we also know that if there is no

change then we are destined to have yet another mass murder. this time the mass murder was of children, elementary children in their schools, with their teachers, gunned down with an assault weapon. there are too many mass murderers in this country. we have more guns per capita than any other country on earth and if guns made people safer, this country would be very safe. but what we have are innocent people being killed with assault weapons. now assault weapons are not used to kill animals, they're not used in self-defense. these are weapons of war and when we return in january, senator fine seen it and our colleague, carolyn mccarthy, will be re-introducing the assault ban bill. but something we can do right

now, before we leave this body, is pass h.r. 308. we now have roughly 150 co-sponsors. and what this bill would do is ban massacre magazines. these are the large-capacity magazines that can have 100 rounds limited to 10 rounds. they'd have to stop then and reload. that's what saved people in the movie theater. they had to stop, it jammed. but these magazines can gun down people and we need to limit them. that's something that we can do right now in this congress before we leave. but there are some who say that any limitation on guns, weapons of mass destruction, somehow limits their liberty. but they have to realize that their access to these weapons of

mass destruction limits the liberty of other people. it means that we need to lock more doors, that we need metal detectors everywhere, that we need guards, that we need more protection, even for movie theaters, even for children in school. we need to bring change. this bill would bring change. this is something we can do right now to show america that we respect the second amendment, we're not infringing on a law-abiding citizen to have their pistol. but we are saying that these large-capacity magazines that are used in war cannot be used on our school children and elementary schools. let's come together in a bipartisan way and pass this bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. mr. murphy: i thank the gentlelady for those words. i'm so pleased to have joining us on the floor the democratic

leader and i'd yield to her the customary one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pelosi: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and i rise in support of his resolution, his very important resolution to condemn the acts of a lone gunman in newtown, connecticut. and to also condolences to the families and members of the community. i join him in the words of this resolution, in saluting the courage of the teach, and administrators who gave their lives to save the children in their care. to thank the first responders who arrived on the scene, to not only get survivors to safety but to end the succession of killings that were happening. those first responders, mr. speaker, they leave their homes every day knowing they're going to face danger. and they did that day as well. but in the face of it, they were

heroic, as well as the teachers and the counselor and the principal of the school. this has all been made very clear to us by our colleagues, congresswoman delauro, who has been a priority for her. of course congressman murphy, senator-elect murphy who represents this district with such distinction and such compassion, congressman courtney, congressman john larson, congressman jim himes, all of them spoke with such beauty at our service earlier, the service earlier, the candlelight service. it was so moving to hear the connection to the people there. the words were nfrl. as the president said, he said last night, this could have been

happening anyplace. we can't tolerate this anymore, he said. these tragedies must end and to end them we must change. to change, our nation is already beginning to reassess the options before us. leaders from both parties have stepped forward to put forth a series of steps on the table, from restoring a ban on assault weapons to assault weapon -- magazines, to strengthening the system of background checks. and again we must address the challenge of mental health and keep weapons out of the hands of those in danger of doing harm to themselves and to others. the voices of reason cannot be sigh -- silent. through administrative and legislative action, we must limit the proliferation of weapons ammunitions that have no other purpose than to kill citizens. our colleagues have talked about congressman maloney just before

me, but others in the course of the evening, about legislation that we could pass immediately. the american people expect us to do. and that is to ban assault magazines. assault magazines. of course we want to ban assault weapons, but to ban assault magazines. why is it that somebody needs a magazine with 20 shots in it and have two of those and 40 lives are at risk? why is it? i i'm not even asking that rhetorically. i'm asking it of those who are advocating that we shouldn't make this change. isn't -- haven't we crossed a threshold when children in kinder guard understand and in school are not safe? when people are who go to the theater in aurora have someone come in and just kill people? i mean, just to use those words is very hard. i don't know what words we could

ever use to comfort the families of newtown, connecticut. as a mother and a grandmother, i find it, you said, unfamiliar omble, unspeakable, unthinkable, just impossible to imagine how they go forward. but hopefully god will give them the strength and the courage to do so. it reminded me of when -- before i was in congress, i had the invitation of president carter to visit italy with the delegation, members of congress, italian american members of congress, and we went there to deliver assistance from the dwrites government after an earthquake in southern italy. and one of the village we visited there was a rehearsal for first commune ongoing on in the church. so just about every 7-year-old in the village was in church

practicing for first holy commune on. when the earthquake hit, the -- communian. when the earthquake hit, the roof came down, every 7-year-old in the village was gone. it was impossible to console the people there. not only had they individually lost their child, which is unthinkable, but the whole town had lost that class, their future, their new growth, their hopes, their babies. their babies. so how -- and that really frmpled my thinking about how fragile -- transformed my think being how fragile life is. this was a natural disaster. what happened in newtown was a personal decision about someone whose judgment was thoroughly impaired, who had -- how could he do this? how could he do it? because he had his own problems. how could he do this? because he had the guns. he had the assault magazines to do it. that's how he could do it.

so let's at least try to mitigate for the circumstances that we may not be able to control entirely the mental condition of someone, but at least limit the capacity to kill that that person has. this hearing -- just hearing the reaction to the expressions of sympathy to the families, to see the president read the names and hear the sobbing, this is something that has scarred, will scar our country. if we can do something about it to prevent it from happening again to this extent, maybe we can't prevent it all from happening, but if we're going to take care of our people, we have to take care of them in many ways, address the issue of violence, address the issue of mental health, address the issue of mental health and access to assault magazines comes together. . calling them high capacity,

they're assault magazines. they make every weapon an assault weapon, that they are compatible with, a pistol, rifle or whatever it is. yes, we want to ban them, but this is an assault weapon. doesn't take a whole lot to figure out what we need to do immediately and then maybe do more later. but wouldn't it be a comfort to those families who lost their babies, their angels, who have gone to heaven that something would come of it that would prevent this from happening to others. i always wondered in the bible and when christ says, suffer,

little children, and come unto me. i guess it was the interpretation of the word, suffer, christ was calling children to him. he used the word suffer. these children, their lives are gone and families are suffering, the other children in the school, in the neighborhoods where children who have just heard about this are suffering, too. suffering about what it feels like to go to school and not be sure you're safe, staying up at night and being scared of what could happen. let's stop the suffering of our children, whether it's taking their lives, scaring them from going to school or keeping them up at night, giving them

nightmares over their safety. these little children did suffer and they did go on to heaven, a better place. it's a timing that we have a problem with, far too soon, far too many, something that we can do something about. i commend my colleagues for how they came together, led by the community coming together, the community of newtown and an inspiration, so strong, so courageous, so sad, so sad. not only do we offer words, we offer action and that action takes the form of passing this legislation to ban assault magazines, to do so in a timely fashion so that we won't lose

any more lives. i commend the president for his beautiful words to the nation, well, mostly to the families last night and to the community, but what a source of strength and inspiration he was, challenging us to act, he said, and let me say it again, we can't tolerate this anymore, he said, these tragedies must end and to end them, we must change. thank you, mr. murphy, for your leadership. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. mr. murphy: thank you very much to the leader and to my delegation and thank you to all that have come down this evening to publicly express their support for families of newtown to help paint us a path forward and i thank everyone for their private words as well.

i will leave everyone with just two final thoughts. just a thought about newtown. newtown is a small town. a small town that is very close knit. over the last few days, as the labor day parade, biggest parade in the state and everybody comes to the town and everybody spends half the year getting their contingent ready, churches, civic and community groups. slice of americaa and that's newtown and that is sandy hook. and the closeness of this community make the grief even deeper. everybody knows everybody. when a school, a community school has this many lost lives. it pains the path forward to recovery, because people are so

close, because you don't have to go too far to reach out and grab a shoulder in order to give you a little bit of a boost, a pathway back. it hurts more, but the closeness of newtown will make us heal as well. we have great leaders as well. governor malloy and has not left and has not left. the first select woman has been an inspiration. superintendent of schools, police chief and all volunteer fire departments. none of them getting paid, have been out there at the site and in the community almost without end since this incident and this final thought, on sunday morning, senator blumenthal went to a local church service and a guy grabbed us and said make

sure this never ever happens again. the honest truth is we can't make sure, but we can make it much less likely and certainly find ways to make sure if someone does slip through the cracks and they set themselves on the path of destruction, the destruction is no where near the scale we saw in newtown. we are grieving right now and going to join this process of figuring out where we go from here very soon but it helps to know that we have the support and the love and the sympathy and the thoughts of the united states house of representatives. it will help me to bring back this resolution to the people of newtown and the people of connecticut and very shortly we'll join you and join the in figuring out a way to make sure that within our power this

doesn't happen again. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, the previous question is ordered. without objection, the resolution is agreed to. and the the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair will entertain requests for one-minutes. for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii rise? >> permission to address the house for one minute. without objection. ms. matsui: our country joins the people of newtown for their greff and loss and we mourn the sudden passing of our patriot senator inouye of hawaii. senator inouye loved his constituents. our thoughts and prayers with

irene, ken, jessica and little maggie. our sympathies to his hard-working sfaff. the senator loved hawaii and his work on behalf of hawaii is leg end dear and no one person who did so much more to ensure hawaii's future than senator inouye. he loved his country and received the medal of honor in her service. senator inouye never forgot where he came from and i represented his dear mother in 1980 when i first ran for the state legislature and i'm proud to count senator inouye as my friend since that time. and we can best honor senator inouye's legacy by continuing to be strong for hawaii and our country.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. further one-minutes? for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? mrs. capito: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, please. ms. kaptur: i would like to rise in support of my dear colleagues from connecticut and throughout our nation in extending deepest sympathy and affection to the people of newtown, conch cut as they bear the -- connecticut as they bear the tragedy. despite the heavy burden of greff, the citizens have truly inspired our entire nation. their spirit has lifted ours as they pay tribute to their children and the heroic teacher and personnel who worked to save lives. their grace ex emapply files

what john kennedy described as courage. i'm including in the record the remarks of lisa long in an article she published about her son michael. we must listen to her and to the people of newtown in memory of each of the precious spirits that have graced it, for their highest aspirations for an america where this never happens again. in aiding us in this journey, this article describes the condition of so many children in our country who are hurting and ill with unquiet minds that even medical science cannot fully explain. i commend president obama for proposing a special commission to listen to mothers like lisa and to the people of newtown as we shape a better future for us all. i yield back. and i commend the new senator-elect from hawaii for her tribute of senator daniel

inouye with whom we had the privilege of serving this many years. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i join my colleague in speaking about how sad we are in the passing of senator daniel inouye. his passing marks the end of an era but beginning of a great future built on the legacy he brought to the congress. the country, he was a public servant from start to finish and was a war hero earning a medal of honor before his state was admitted to the union and imagine japanese-american heritage when japanese-americans were in camps, he was fighting

for the freedom. he i a true patriot and hawaii's first representative in the house and served with great pride and we call him colleague. senator inouye is a pat try arc of hawaii and we remember the vitality and success of his beloved home state. senator inouye led a life of passion, service and sacrifice and highest ranking american in our country and was a long time. he lived the american dream and served with bravery and courage and served with dignity and reflects the best of america. we hope it is a comfort to his wife irene and his son ken and his many, many friends that so many share in their grief at this sad time. i want to praise him personally but also bring words of comfort

to his family from my constituents in california who considered him a very, very special leader in our country. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair now lays before the house personal requests. the clerk: leaves requs for mr. clyburn, mr. culberson of texas of today, mr. griffin of arkansas, ms. jackson lee of texas for today, mr. jopes of north carolina for today, ms. gwen moore of wisconsin for today, mr. reyes of texas and mr. terry of texas for today. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker pro tempore: without objection. all requests are granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? ms. pelosi: i ask that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. the house stands adjourned u

time of great desolation. no torment shall touch them. we ask your blessing upon the members of this assembly and especially upon the leadership. it is upon their shoulders the most important negotiations have been placed. give them insight and courage to forge an agreement that allows us all to move toward encouraging future.

now made this before your greater honor and memory. -- made this before your greater honor and memory. come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty and everlasting god, in whom we live and move and have our being, as we grieve the loss of life in the newtown , conneticut shooting, show us your way and teach us your path. make us all responsible stewards of your most precious gift of

time by teaching us to number our days, that we may have hearts of wisdom. may the incomprehensible destruction of lives still framed by springtime remind us of the importance of not delaying in seizing our opportunities to do good. make our lawmakers willing to act promptly, remembering that time is fleeting, and that they shall not pass this way again. bless those who mourn, eternal god, with the comfort of your love that they may face each new day with hope and with the

certainty that nothing can destroy the good that has been given them. may they are memories become less painful, as you encircle their lives with your love. we pray in your merciful name. amen. senator kirk's statement be placed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: as i was coming to work today i drove past st. peter's grade school on the house side of the hill. and there were a group of students, little kids, who were being escorted by their teacher down the sidewalk and as they walked along i couldn't help but get a flashback to that image that all america remembers from last friday of the children at sandy hook school in newtown, connecticut, filing out heading for safety at the

firehouse. i don't know that i can look at the faces of these children as their names have been roartd and not think of my own kids when they were that age and especially of my own grandchildren now who were just a little over a year old. but i saw in the eyes of those children what all of us see, an innocence, happiness, an interest in the future and just the greatest dreams in the world. well, in one brutal, debraved -- deprived hometown those dreams ended when that gunman forced way into sandy hook school and shot those poor, innocent children. at that moment some people stepped forward who really became heroes of the day. four teachers, rachel davino, anne marie murphy, lauren rousseau, victor yoa soat pe merry sherlach the school psychologist, and dawn hochsprung the principal who walked into the face of this gunman to try to stop him from

harming any chirp. we'd like to think any of us would rise to a standard of courage they showed. i hope we will but they did, and in so doing reminded us even those who just go to work every single day can be called on to show bravery. these teachers did. the school psychologistnd principal and we hoeo them a great -- owe them a great deb of gratitude as i'm sure all the families in the school feel. we bray for the first victim, nancy lanza and reflect on our responsibility. i thought about it over the weekend, and wroi an article for "the chicago tribune" this morning and here's what it said. what would it take -- what will it fake for a majority of americans to speak out for sensible firearms policy in our nation? it will take more than a congresswoman being shot point blank in the face as she gathers for a town meeting in arizona. it will take more than a

deranged gunman with 100 magazines spraying bullets int a movie theater in aurora, colorado. it will take more than kids dying with, morning killings on campuses in illinois and texas and virginia and more than the shootings on the streets of chicago, my hometown of east st. louis and so many other cities. sadly, it will take more than 27 victims including 20 children a at sandy hook grade school in connecticut. what it will take is a majority of americans and a majority of thoughtful gun owners and hunters to agr that there must be a reasonable limit on gun ownership an weapons. the supreme court acknowledged that the second amendment rights are not absolute, so can we come together and agree that americans have the right to own and use firearms for sport and self-defense with certain

limits? we must institute reasonable commonsense limits such as barring those with a history of mental instability, those with a history of violent crime and subject to restraining orders and those whose 2345eu78s have already been placed on a terrorist watch list. they shouldn't own guns. and those straw purchasers who are fencing for drug gangs and other criminal thugs? how about the gun dealers who look the other way when they come to buy those weapons? we have to deal with them realistically and firmly. there are certain classes of weapons that are strictly military. they have no useful purpose in sport, hunting or self-defense. they should not be legally sold in america. the gun that was used at sandy hook grade school in newtown, connecticut, was just such a gun. an ar-15, originally an m-16 developed for military purposes and then with a clip attached to

it that held countless numbers of bullets, he turned them on those little babies, those infants and killed them with that assault weapon. magazine clips with more than ten rounds should be prohibited from civilian use. no one should be allowed to purchase more than two firearms, maybe only one firearm a month. and those who own firearms that are within the reach of children should have protective locks on their weapons. what holds us back are political organizations that are well funded, organized and determined to resist even the most reasonable limitations. there is a close political parallel between the gridlock in washington on dealing with our economy and national debt and the eerie silence in congress as the list of horrific dwb gun crimes grows by the day. i'm encouraged by seralf my colleagues who have spoken out today. drad ition traddation -- traditionally they've been the side of those who opposed any

limitation on firearms but they believe after newtown, connecticut, we have to reopen that conversation in a good faith effort to find common ground. too many colleagues shrug their shoulders when vot come to the floor for a vote. they feel duty bound to vote right on every scorecard issue. my wife and i grew up in downstate illinois with families of hunters. we know the rite of passage when a father takes his son or daughter out hunting the first time. i know fun of watching the sun come up on a duck blind and aring a seasoned hunter calling them over the water. the hunters i know are good people. they le their sport and they hate those who misuse firearms to tryst and -- terrorize and kill. we need these hunters to join with americans who never owned or used a gun to establish a reasonable standard for gun use and ownership in this great nation. i was thinking over the weekend how much we have focused on

texting and driving, and i looked up the numbers. last year it is estimated that 6,000 americans died because they foolishly were texting while driving. we now have a national campaign to stop texting and driving and we should. 6,000 american lives lost last year we lost 30,000 american lives to gun deaths. to put it in perspective. it's time for to us view safety and ownership of guns as seriously as we do when it comes to safety in the operation of automobiles. until we do, until we come together as a nation, and come forward with reasonable limits on the guns that can be sold, magazines and cartridges that can be sold, even the body armor which i cannot even understand a purpose for in this country, untile do that, the number of victims of gun tragedies will continue to grow and the silence of the funerals

that follow will be matched by the silence of those in congress who is have the power to change it. it is time for to us step forward i memory of these poor children in newtown, connecticut, their griing families, these her roik -- heroic teachers and those who reminded us we are all part of the same american family. madam president, yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: before the senator from illinois leaves the floor, i commend him for his statement statement, first on his nominee for illinois judgeship, something that's been delayed far too long through no fault of the senator from illinois. madam president, this weekend was a very difficult and trying weekend, for our families and so many other families, nothing compared to t families in

newtown, of course. i pretty much stayed off the phone, spent time with children and grandchildren. made an exception for a couple of phone calls with the distinguished senior senator from illinois. i told him when we come back in a couple of weeks in the new congress, i'll work with him to make sure the senate judiciary committee has full and thorough hearings on the subjects he's just talked about. just as he stated here so eloquently and as he did in his television interviews this weekend. it is the time to have -- the president was absolutely right when he said that there are a number of issues here. obviously the issue of guns is one of them. mental health is another. there are several house

issues -- several house. several committees will look at that and should. i think the senate judiciary committee has a very particular role to play, and i pledge to the senator from illinois he'll have my complete cooperation in that regard. one of the rare phone calls i made this weekend other than to a couple national law enforcement officials. i thought i'd seen some of the most her risk crime scenes a young man, they just don't even begin -- don't even begin to compare to what the first responders and others, school officials, parents, saw in that elementary school. the memories -- the memory is fresh for us, but can you

imagine this is a memory for the families, both the adults and the children who died, that's a memory that will never fade, never, ever, ever. i thinke ought to show our responsibility to step forward, find out what can be done and agree on it. i -- not as democrats, republicans, liberals, moderates. i believe, madam president, it can be done. i see a time of 5:00 is nearly arrived. but i also see the distinguished senator from maryland on the floor. does -- he wished to speak on the supplemental, i ask unanimous consent it being be returned to him, if we go past 5:00 they be able to speak on my time on the judicial

nominations. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: madam president, first let me thank chairman leahy for those words and ex -- in the exchange with senator durbin. i want to express my deepest condolences on behalf of all the people of maryland to the 20 students who lost their lives, the six adults at the hand of a single shooter at sandy hook elementary school in you intown, connecticut. it's heartbreaking to listen to the stories of innocent lives cut cruelly short. the pain and grief of the families and friends of these students and teachers are unimaginable. i just want to echo some of the comments that senator durbin made and senator leahy made. we know that the teachers and the aides put their life on the line in order to try to save children. the unbelievable task of the

first responders coming to the scene, not knowing what they would find, we send our prayers to all. this is a tragedy beyond words, and i think president obama said it best last night that our hearts are broken. but as senator durbin has said and senator leahy, i particularly want to thank you, we need to take action. congress needs to come together and take actiono protect the safety of our children. we must do better. there ve been too many episodes in which children's lives and others have been lost that we must figure out ways to do things, to act to prevent these types of tragedies. this conversation must include a discussion about the culture of violence that preemanates our culture today, including the glorification of violence to our children and young adults.

we see too much of this violence and it has to have an impact on young children. we need to know how we can responsibly deal with this circumstance. must include a discussion of the mental health services provided to americans, including our students. many of us have talked about this in the past. we have to be more aggressive in dealing with the mental health needs of all the people in our community. and as chairman leahy pointed out, we must discuss the issue about the ready access of individuals to weapons. now, i know there are different views in this congress. i must tell you, i don't understand why we need to allow access to military-style assault weapons and ammunition. i strongly support senator feinstein's effort to reinstate the expired 1994 ban on assault

weapons, including a ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than ten rounds. senator durbin has raised a very valid point. we regulate automobiles, we regulate consumer products, we regulate a lot -- as we should for public safety. and we should regulate firearms for public safety reasons. there's no need for assault weapons to be hd by the public. in my view, there's no legitimate reason for civilian to possess a military-style weapon or to have large-capacity ammunition clips. congress should also examine whetr we can strengthen our background check system for gun buyers along with criminal penalties for those who illegally purchase or transfer guns. we need to take a look at safety locks for chdren. we need to look at those who have multiple purchases. we need to look at the gun show purchases. all these i think we should examine to see whether we canno make our communities safer

without infringing upon the legitimate right of individuals to possess guns, sportsmen to be able to use guns for hunting. i think all that obviously will be protected, but we can do a much better job in protecting public safety. we've talked about this before and we need to act. we need to act in a comprehensive way to make our society safer. and i pledge to the chairman of the judiciary committee. i've had the honor of serving on that committee for four years. he's an extremely fair leader. he believes in letting all sides be heard. and i very much appreciate his commitment in so many different areas that have dealt with public safety, and we have great confidence in his leadership on that committee and other committees of the united states senate need to act as it relates a roll call vote on the gerquin nomination and a

voice vote on the nomination of olguin. two 6-year-old boyce are being buried this week. nominate oah turned six last month, even though he was only six, jack was a new york giants fan. in the days to come, many of the classmates will also be laid to rest, victims of this tragedy too terrible to comprehend. 20 little girls and boys, 20 tineie daughters and sons, sisters, brothers, friends and playmates. 20 children will never grow up to learn to drive, go on that first date, or graduate from high school. 26 -- i'm sorry, mr. president -- 20 six and seven-year-olds will never have the chai tons fall in love, get married or have children of their own. noah, jack, charlotte, dylan,

madeleine, kath reconciliation bill, chase, jessie, grace, care line, jessica, allison, and james. no words of condolence could possibly ease the pain of families who lost cherished little children. but i hope it's some small comfort that the entire nation mourns with them. my heart, my warm wishes go out to all of those affected by friday's massacre. my thoughts are with the students and faculty of sandy hook who witnessed the violence. newtown and the nation have seen great evil, but we've also seen incredible bravely. in her mine final act on earth, 26-year-old victoria soto hid her children in closets and cabinets and then sacrificed herself to save them. dawn hochsprung, the principal

-- forcibly, the word goes, attacked the assailant and he killed her. mary sherr lock, rachel devino, ann marie murphy also died trying to sativeguard the children. these teachers devoted the newtown children how to read, subtract, and how to be good boys and girls. they gave their lives to keep the children safe. they are a source of hope in a hopeless situation. i commend the teachers of sandy hook elementary who didn't hesitate when they saw danger coming. some barricaded their students inside class rooms or hid them in closet preventing even greater loss of life. i thank the first responders who rushed into the school despite the danger and horrors around them, knowing they had a job to do. it's hard to comprehend this

type of tragedy let alone recover from it. but in the words of helen keller, and i quote, "although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming suffering." as the families of newtown mourn, all america mourns with them. we'll stand with them as they overcome the suffering and beginning the healing process. part of the healing process will require congress to examine what can be done prevent more tragedies like the ones in new towrntion connecticut, you a rohr a, colorado, oak creek, which is, which and portland, oregon. these were just fairly recently, mr. president. as president obama said last night, no one law can erase evil, no policy can prevent a determined madman from committing a senseless act of violence. but we need to accept the reality that we're not doing enough to protect our citizens. in the coming days and weeks

we'll engage in a meaningful conversation and thoughtful debate about how to change laws in culture that allow this violence to continue to grow. we have no greater responsibility than keeping our most vulnerable and most precious resource -- our children -- safe. and every idea should be on the table as we discuss how best to mr. mcconnell: mr. president, want to start by extending my deepest sympathies to the families of the victims of friday's massacre and to the whole community and to thank the first responders and all those who are helping in the aftermath of this darkest of tragedies. three days after the horrors of newtown, we're all still reeling from what happened. anytime there is a shooting like this, we're crushed with srow. but there's no he is scraping the fact that the mas the massae stands out for it its awfulness.

the murder of so many little children and the adults who tried to save them doesn't just break our hearts, it shatters them. the last few days have been searing for all of us. and the days ahead will be, too. over the weekend we began to see the faces of the children and to hear their stories. one parent,obbie parker sod up before the cameras on sat did i and shared with the nation an impromptuual guy of his 6-year-old dart emillie. emily was bright and creative. and very loving, he said. and we marveled at his courage and now the funerals, ten of

them, this week i one church alone. it's been said many times that no words are adequate to live the agony of a parent like robbie parker. what happened in newtown on friday is something no parent after young child could ever prepare for. but i think president obama spoke for all of us in the very moving meditation he offered last night on the sing layerty of parental love. there is literally nothing we wouldn't do for our kids and that's one of the things that makes this massacre so terrible, and which makes the stories of courage we've heard so inspiring. the young teacher who stood between the gunman and her students and lost her life in the process, the principal and

the school psychologist who sprung into action and gave their lives, too. as the president said, these luminous acts of self-sacrificing love are the moments that will define this tredy in the years ahead. because the heroism and the courage that we will never fail to see in the midst of tragedies like this become the starting point to something better and more lasting than the vagaries of this life. they give us the hope we need in the face of so much evil and sorrow. so we stand with the people of newtown today and in the days ahead. we can do nothing to lessen their anguish, but we can let them know that we mourn with them. that we share a tiny part of the

burden in our own hearts, and that we will lift the victims and their families and the entire community in prayer. scripture says that while now we only know in part in the life to come we shall know even as we are known scripture also says in that day every tear will be wiped away because there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain for the former things will have passed away. may the people of newtown and all americans be consoled by this certain hope. may their burdens be lightened by the loving care of their neighbors and friends, and even

strangers, in the days and weeks ahead. and may this terrible tragedy prompt all of us to cherish the lives we've been given. our female members and friends, and all who surround us in our daily tasks. is is noasting city, we know. may we pass through it with a little more gratitude and with a firmer determination to livehe kind of lives we've been called to mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now ask that the united states senate observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the andy hook elementary -- of the sandy hook elementary school tragedy. [moment of silence]

a few hours later i saw him again. he had a smile on his face. in connecticut on friday, when the parents dropped their first graders off, kiss them goodbye, and they got on a school bus. that was the last time they saw them. something horrible, something unexplainable happened last week. when asked how folks are doing company i say there are a lot of blank looks.

they were gunned down. when asked why us, why were we able to prevent this from happening, and in the coming days and weeks, and i guess we will get some answers. when you peek through this crippling darkness of the last four days, there is one answer we know for certain. when asked about our love for each other those questions were

answered. the principal told her colleagues to run one way so she could run the other way, directly toward the gunman. they were answered by victoria soto who died no shielding her students from bullets. they were answered by the thousands of individual acts of humanity that have overflowed since the days of the shooting. i went to the first of too many funerals this morning.

all the wonderful faces remind us inside the hearts of us is all noah. they are going to survive this. they can survive because of inspiration. they are just asking this town to remember how good they were. i want to thank all of you for the individual love you showered on our town. i want to thank the connecticut delegation for all of their support. it helps to know the world is leaving with us.

i would ask the house rise. >> rise and observed a moment of silence. >> for what purposes does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> i asked the workforce to be discharged for resolution 830 -- 843, after for its immediate consideration for the house.

>> a resolution condemning the attacks. >> is there an objection? the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for one hour. >> i yield a moment to offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of newtown, conn. what happened is unspeakable. in the face of such a tragedy, it is our duty to honor the memories of the victims. let's offer our prayers to the families and friends. i yield my time to the gentleman from connecticut. mr. murphy i ask unanimous consent he be permitted to control the time. >> the gentleman yield his time to the gentleman from connecticut.

without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you. i yield the time. >> i thank the chairman for his kind words and generosity in allowing us to have this time on the floor this evening to both remember 26 individuals who were brutally murdered on friday morning in the town of newtown, conn., but also to start to pay the pathway for work. the town is grieving. it is going to be grieving for a long time, because we are processing how to think about this, never mind understanding how to recover, but this morning of the first of what will be far too many funerals, as you can start to see through the darkness a glimmer of how we

figure out a way out of this. little noe was buried this morning by his parents and families. not unlike most precocious six- years old, he loved playing, he was mischievous and smart as a whip. he always talked about what he would like to do with his life. one day he would say he wanted to be a doctor. another day he would say he wanted to be a police officer. these days his mom said he wanted to be a talker store owner. he loved and tacos. that was his dream in life. what we have seen is the faces of these first graders who perished, and while our hearts are sick with grief, we know

their purity and love is going to be the inspiration for the community and this whole world to figure out how how to recover. i have been on the ground since friday afternoon almost nonstop, and newtown is asking lots of questions about why it happened to us. why did this guy do its, and as i just said on the house floor, those questions are going to stick around for a while, but what you see is overabundant loves. within hours, the fire station was still with counselors, filled with public safety personnel, filled with food, filled with everything that could possibly support these families, and those offers of support have kept on coming, and

what has also emerged is the stories of what happened that day. certainly the tragedy and horror is first and foremost, but underneath that is your wisdom. only the beginnings of which we know right now. -- underneath that is heroism, on the beginning of which we know right now. this is the best school in the state because of the principal. she was a great principle until the end. she was in a meeting when it happened. she told the people to run the other way so she could run to the shooter to try to disarm him. a young teacher, victoria soto, had the soundness of mind to tell her kids to hide in the closet. she told the shooter the students were in the gymnasium somewhere else in the building. she did not survive, but many of

her students survived because what she did. when you start to hear more snippets of teachers who got their colleagues out the window, kindergarten teachers who kept them quiet, read them quiet stories so they would not be overheard, you start to know what kind of community newtown is, and you start to understand how they survived. i feel like i have done a lot of talking publicly and to families and community members, so i want to make sure we are aware so those across the country can come and share their thoughts as well. we have offered a resolution tonight which expresses our outrage at what happened but

also our great sympathy. it does help to know people from all around the country are living with us. only bits and pieces see around the wall, but when it does appears that veil, it helps. we are going to have a lot of time to talk about what we do next, and i am sure we will have some of that discussion tonight. i will join that conversation when it was right, and i do not speak french anyone who has not today. it is important we talk about how this never happens again. for those of us in new town, we remember those 20 kids and six adults. charlotte, rachel, olivia,

josephine, dawn, dylan, madel eine, catherine, chase, jesse lewis, anna grace marquez green, james, grace emily parker. jack pinto, noah possessner. caroline, jessica, lauren russo, mary sherlock, victoria soto, benjamin wheeler and allison wyatt. we'll remember those people for a long time in newtown. we're going to grieve with them

and their families. we're also going to take their memories, the beauty of those kids, the heroism of those adults and let it point us, let it point the strong close-knit community of newtown, connecticut, let it point us to a way that we can survive. with that, i would like to yield to my friend from the third district in connecticut for five minutes. >> i thank the gentleman. i thank him for the depth of his feeling and the work that he has done over the last several days to helping to bring some solace and some

peace to families who have been so struck by the devastation in newtown, connecticut. i strongly support this resolution and condemn as my colleagues do the vicious attack at the sandy hook elementary school and commemorate our children and the teachers who were struck down in this terrible tragedy. it is overwhelming, i think all of us at the memorial service last night were overwhelmed. it was a slaughter of the innocents. every parent and grandparent sees the eyes and the smiles and the looks on those children's faces who we lost, their own children and their grandchildren knowing that there for the grace of god go i-. what happened in newtown is

unthinkable. a normal friday morning in the midst of a holiday season. sandy hook elementary school, a place where children should be safe to learn, to grow suddenly without warning became a place of senseless violence. within minutes, the actions of a young and mentally ill man devastated a small town community, broken the hearts of millions across the country and murdered six teachers and administrators and 20 innocent children, all of them between 6 and 7 years old. they're that big. they are that big. such an unspeakable crime seems unpossible to make sense of. how could this young man kill so many innocents? how could so many beautiful little angels with their whole lives ahead of them be taken from their families?

they were just babies. they were just babies. it's hard to witness such a senseless and evil act and similar acts that some of my colleagues in this chamber have faced in aurora, in portland, oakland, tucson, blacksburg, littleton, you can't help but feel a despairing of the soul. we in this institution cannot afford that luxury. we need to be strong for the families of the fallen in newtown and for the families of children all over america, to the newtown community and to all of the connecticut families and parents and the siblings who have been touched by what happened on friday, our thoughts and our prayers are with you. what you are going through is indescribable. we can be sympathetic. we can be empathetic. we do not know that sense of

despair that you feel. you must know that our nation shares and mourns your loss. i, too, and my colleagues chris murphy acknowledged the tremendous heroism of the adults who were killed on friday, individuals like principal dawn hock sprung who ran at the assassin, told people to run away from them in order to protect her kids in the school. the school teacher vicky soto, stratford, connecticut, and i represent stratford, connecticut, who in the heat of a terrible moment gave her life to protect her students. she hid them. she hid them and lost her life in doing so. they all died in the line of duty. they are heroes and heroines.

they gave their life to protect those children that they deal with every day, that they educate, that they care for and that they love as if they were their own. to the first responders who put their lives on the line to stop the senseless killing in sandy hook, we say thank you for your courage and for preventing more young lives from being lost for they, too, ran into a building not knowing what they were going to face. moving forward, we in this institution have to take common sense, constructive steps that will help to ensure these sorts of tragedies will not happen again. and they include insuring better access to quality mental health care, strengthening programs so that communities will have the necessary mental health resources. we have heard so much in the last several days about how we need to secure the physical

plant of the school. yes, we need to do that and need to be secure, but we can't turn them into prisons for these young people. i wish and hope that at the same time we're talking about those kinds of efforts that we talk about putting a mental health professional in our schools. that is security. as well as stationing police cruisers in front of our schools. it means doing everything in our power to prevent guns from falling in the hands of violent criminals and giving law enforcement officials the fools they need. the president said last night caring for our children must be our first task and we can no longer tolerate these tragedies and we must change. he asked if we are doing what we can to protect our children and he said that answer must be no and we need to protect them at a more fundamental level, we cannot let this terrible tragedy harden our hearts

against our fellow men and women. in the words of dr. martin luther king and i quote, "darkness cannot drive out darkness. only light can do that. hate cannot drive out hate. only love can do that." let's honor the fallen in newtown by doing everything that we can to prevent these tragedies in the future and follow the example -- let us follow the example of those innocents who parished. let's rekindle one another love, compassion and community. let's hold our children and our grandchildren close, love them and tell them that you love them as many times as you are able. thank you. >> mr. speaker, a message from the senate. >> mr. speaker. >> madam secretary. >> i have been directed by the sentry from the house that the senate has passed s 3472, the

request of the house is requested. >> gentleman from connecticut is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent all members might have five legislative days on hres 833. >> so ordered. >> i yield five minutes to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. larson. >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you chris murphy. we just came from a vigil over on the senate side that senator lieberman, senator blumenthal, former senator dodd were at and all of us had the opportunity to be there. joe courtney, when he spoke, spoke of our colleague chris

murphy and the incredible job that he has done for his district and for our state. when you hear him speak on the floor about quintessential new england and the community he represented for six years in newtown and the little village of sandy hook, you understand that this is a man who truly represents the people of his district and this great state. all of us have been shocked by

the events that have transpired . many things will be said, dick blumenthal, elizabeth who is the represent elect have been there for the last four days. the whole world has looked in on this horrific event and parents all across this country and all across the world understood implicitly what we all fear, the unspeakable. a parent describing a trip in an automobile from bridgeport to newtown racing to get there

to see whether their child was alive and survived. and the joy when they were able to see their kids and the complete and utter despair when your child was not one of the kids who came out. and chris murphy and dick blumenthal and elizabeth este, our colleagues, were there. these first responders who came on the scene and prevented the loss of more lives deserve our unending thanks.

the great coordination by our state police and local police, everything that transpired, all of the volunteers that participated, the teachers, the professionalism that they exhibited, the execution of a drill that they had been through time and again. as rosa talked about, the principal and the teacher who sheltered her children and gave her own life. these are difficult things. as chris has so eloquently said, we're seeking answers and know that we must move on. where do you find the strength? we found the strength in a great leader and a governor, dan milloy who has been there all four days and beyond. at the vigil last evening where

the president spoke at an ecumenical gathering, he said as winter approaches and snow begins to at all, i will always think of these children as precious snowflakes during this winter of events, but i am hearted by the fact that every spring when the flowers bloom wealthy of their precious memory as well. our president said that the people of newtown were inspirational. indeed they are. let me just, if i may, just

close briefly by saying -- >> yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. >> cleo, the muse of history used to sit above this chamber, the muse of history's responsibility was to sit there as you'll see the statue in statuary hall with a book and pen recording the events of this chamber. we are in a unique position of responsibility. we have been sent here to perform a duty. not only the muse of history, but all the world is watching the united states congress and we have a responsibility to respond in the most comprehensive way. this is an attack of terrorism. this happened all too often and all too frequently all across this country. in such an attack we would do everything within our power to make sure that no stone was

left unturned to make sure that we provided every answer and every opportunity that we can as rosa said to protect our children. that's why we take an oath of office here. that is our god given responsibility, we must act and act now. thank you. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> thank you. at this point i yield five minutes to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. courtney. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. again, i want to just begin by saluting my colleague from connecticut, chris murphy, who over the last 72 hours has been the voice of the community of western connecticut and newtown in particular. he has handled his role in that capacity with poise and good

decorum and taste. it really is something that i think that we should all in this chamber be so proud of. i would also want to mention that he did it as a father of someone who has a 4-year-old son owen, who i'm sure was seeing all around him, the events that were unfolding, the unspeakable horror again in the eyes of a parent of a child really of the same age group. again, we are just so lucky to have had his amazing leadership over the last three or four days. the president opened his remarks how the town like newtown is like my other communities. to a point it's true, it's 29,000 sure was seeing tight-knit very small town. it is a town that is very above average in many instances.

it's a school system that scores at the top of the mastery test in the state of connecticut. that doesn't happen by accident. it has parents and staff that year in and year out have been so committed to making sure that children succeed and excel and really has been a model for the state of connecticut and for our country and when education really still is one of the most important challenges that we need to succeed as a country. for this event to happen at sandy hook elementary school, when i was sitting with the board of education during the interfaith and those that had gone through sandy hook and were successfully pursuing careers in new york and the west coast and connecticut, really again was just tore, for the heart out of this community. it's a community very small town. where they had one act of homicide over the last 10 years and to see those police officers come down the aisle having, again, to respond to this unspeakable horror and to see the looks on their face and the emotional drain that

took place, it really, again, was just something that was just so out of any norm for any community, but certainly in particular for the town of newtown. as chris said, though, in every instance, whether it was the principal, the teachers, the parents, the first responders, the caregivers in every instance they rose to the challenge. they did their job. victoria soto, the teacher who shielded and saved the lives of a half dozen students was in the middle of a lesson when this person burst into her classroom. in 10 minutes, from beginning to end, since this debate had started, the event had reached its conclusion. for her to think so quickly and to react so courageously, again, is an act of human excellence that i think all of us will wonder whether or not we are ourselves could ever possibly have done the same. her example, the example of the

police and the e.m.s., the example of the doctors and nurses who, again, responded so quickly, frankly, i see that as a challenge to this congress. they acted. they did what they were supposed to do. as the president said last night, if you believe that the measure of a society is how we protect our children and if you're honest, you have to answer that we really are not doing all that we can do, then frankly it is time for us to follow the exam of victoria sotos and react. this resolution tonight is so important to begin that first step. the fact of the matter is there is much more that needs to be done. this morning as i was driving to the airport in the back roads of connecticut, i went by a number of elementary schools. at every single one, there was a police cruiser at the entrance. the state police and local police departments were being very thoughtful. they wanted to make sure when parents and kids going to

school felt safe. after all they had seen on the tv over the weekend that it was ok to go in the entrance of their schools. that is not an answer, so say that we are going to turn our schools into fortresses is not where we should be as a nation. we need to go deeper in terms of solving this problem of mass killings and of violence that now again is striking at the most innocent in our society. again, i look forward to working with the gentleman from the fifth district over the next few days and when he takes his new duties as the new senator from the state of connecticut to make sure that the people in that room last night who were listening to the president, the people in our state, the people in our country, the people in the world that are now watching us that we make sure that we deliver just like the brave people of the town of newtown did over this past weekend. with that, i yield back. >> thank you, mr. courtney. at this point i yield five minutes to the gentleman from

connecticut. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker, i would like to begin by thanking my friend and colleague from connecticut, mr. murphy, not just for introducing this resolution, but the strength of spirit as he has comforted some people who have lived through something that none of us would ever want to live through. as congressman murphy noted, noah pozner, a 6-year-old boy was buried today as was jack pinto, another 6-year-old boy. i looked at the photographs of the parents at those funerals and tried to imagine the bottomless grief, the anger, the questions they must have and, of course, that's impossible. and, of course, at the very front of those questions is the question of why, something that we'll all struggle with

individually reverting probably only imperfectly on to the tenets of our faith as to how a supposedly be never lent god could allow this slaughter of innocents to happen. we won't answer that question and last night with the president and with my family by which i mean my colleagues from connecticut as we listened to the president and listening to the sighs and gasps of the families in the community of newtown, it's clear there is no clear answer to that question of why. a line of poetry kept running through my head. thomas hardy in one of his poems asked how arrives that joy lies slain and why unblooms the best hope everstone. we won't answer that question, but that question and it's unanswerability will transform itself into a burden that we all will and must bear. by we all, i mean every citizen

of this country, but particularly those of us who are entrusted by our constituents with one thing, which is to make sure that this does not happen again. and i don't think there is any risk at all that we can't do that. in a country awash in guns and not just guns for the hunter or for the person that wishes to protect him or herself, but guns that were designed with the explicit purpose of killing as many people as rapidly as possible. not in a country that has raised violence to a secular religion, to a past-time, to a hobby, to a solution to our

problems. and not in a country that seems to have forgotten that it's not just our close families, it's not just the small connecticut delegation that is a family, but that we are a national family. we have obligations of responsibility, one to each other, that there is a clear answer to that ancient biblical question, am i my brother's keeper and that that answer is yes. so i don't think there is any risk that we can't act, but i think that there is a profound risk that just as after aurora, just as after oregon, just as after columbine we won't act. that's not good enough. i'll tell you how i'm going to

challenge myself. i'm going to imagine noah and jack, 6-year-olds who nobody really knew. i didn't know them. their parents didn't really know them. didn't know where they would go to college. who they would take to a prom. i'm going to imagine i'm going to imagine them standing right here. it's not hard with a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old at home. looking up and asking will you do it. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my team. >> thank you mr. speaker. may i inquire as the time remaining? >> we have a number of speakers. we'll try to give a minute and a half to as many as i can. i give 30 seconds oregon, to th lady from colorado. >> the gentle lady is

recognized. >> not again. we all said it to ourselves in the split second we heard it on friday. not again. we heard it was different, 20 little children slaughtered in our classroom. in our sadness, we know our society bears responsibility because we have not done enough to protect our children. we have not been able to get a grip on the increasing incidents of gun massacres and because of that, we have failed our children. in the wake of newtown, this country must really have a conversation about our views on violence. our views on guns and how we're going to respond to people who are obviously mentally ill. certainly through that conversation, we can find consensus around reasonable solutions to keep these killing machines out of the hands of impaired individuals.

there is not one magic solution. it's many things. it starts with us having inward conversations with ourselves and our families. it starts by creating a more comprehensive and effective mental health system. then we have to have a meaning conversation about gun violence in our country. we are never going to stop a deranged individual of going into a school or a movie theater or a shopping mall to shoot people. of the 12 deadliest shooting massacres in history, six have occurred since

>> and movie theater in

colorado. an army base in texas. a temple in wisconsin, a college campus in virginia. now an elementary school and the connecticut. this has on the tragedies and it is long past time we control them. the second amendment as i guarantee an absolute right to military-style, high caliber, semiautomatic bulletproof vest piercing with high-capacity magazine to anybody who wants them. it just does not. we must not let interest groups persuade us otherwise. any sensible gun control legislation we need them here and we need them now. our children are counting on us. we really need to not let them down. i yield back. >> thank you.

80 minutes and have to the gentle lady from california. -- a minute and a half. it is a program we offer our prayers and sympathy. that is not enough. that is not enough.

it is in this chamber and in this congress that we can make changes that the american people and their anguish are looking for. lincoln said the world will little note nor long remember what we say here. but it can never forget what they did here. it is for the living to be dedicated here to their great unfinished work. so the massacre of these angels should inspire us to take on the job of what really needs to be done in our country. will we be able to resolve every last problem brought about in this country? i doubt that.

jimmy take great steps to avoid -- can we take steps to avoid what has been happening all around the country and now with a little angels going to school. i pledge not only to my constituents and the people of our country that i will do everything possible to help resolve this. it will be the hand of god that will guide us. with that, i yield back my time. >> a minute and a half to the gentle lady from california. >> this friday and unimaginable horror happened. the most innocent amongst us, 20

beautiful children, were gunned down in cold blood. six adults died trying to save these children lives. my heart breaks for these families. i send my deepest sympathies to the new town community and all struggling through this unthinkable tragedy. made clear what we have known for two long -- sandy hook made clear what we have known too long. that we are not doing enough to address mental-health issues in our society. that we are not doing enough to stand up to those who are actually saying that more guns, not less, are the solution to mass shootings. this must change. for the sake of our children, i say enough is enough. congress must act to put a stop to this senseless gun violence. >> at this point, i yield a

minute and a half to the gentle lady from california. >> i rise this evening to pay tribute to the innocent victims tragically struck down in connecticut. and to condemn in the strongest possible terms the senseless acts of violence that claimed their lives. that so many victims were young children who have their entire lives ahead of them makes this shooting even more heart wrenching. the children were so young. we saw in each of them our own children, our grandchildren. they really are america's children. jack pinto, 6, the same age as my grandson. he was a huge new york giants fan. and today he was buried in a

giants jersey. and noah, also 6, whose best friend was his twin sister arielle. in another class and survived. though, i am sure she felt she lost her other self. these children virtually and said. mostly knowing in their short lives just joy. and little about the brutality in this world until they experienced it first hand on friday. what gives us hope is there was also love and bravery in the actions of the adults. the educators and first responders who acted selflessly and heroically. we will forever remember all of them and pledge that their purity and spirits will be our guiding light to act, to protect

our children and our community. >> i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from florida. >> i thank my friend from connecticut. i rise tonight to join all americans in grieving for the innocent children and brave adults horrific the slaughtered at sandy hook elementary school last friday. what happened in newtown, connecticut is every parent's worst nightmare. every parent who sends a child to school each morning takes a leap of faith that he or she will be home that night. for a hug, a family dinner, or kiss goodnight. for my wife and me, our children are the center of our lives. words cannot express the sorrow

we feel, that all americans feel, for the families whose children were viciously taken away. the american people are united in grief. in the coming days, and national conversation will take shape on how to make our nation a little bit safer. we must remain united. never mind some will still threatened by this conversation and others will try to stop it altogether. this unspeakable crime was driven by unspeakable evil. when it comes to preventing this heinous act, nothing should stop us from speaking out. nothing should stop us from taking action. by preventing another massacre, by stopping this rampageing gun violence, we will honor the memory of every six and seven year old child and every great member of the sandy hook community. please let us do more than talk. please let us do more than give speeches. let us come together to act.

to make america safer. >> yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from world island -- rhode isalnd. >> behalf of the residents of my home state of rhode island, i extend my profound sympathy to our neighbors in connecticut. as we stand here morning the innocent victims of this horrific massacre, our hearts ache for the parents and families to have adored and indescribable lost. we stand united as members of one community to share in the vital responsibility to protect our children, our families and our neighborhood. it is the men, women, and children of newtown join together to cover one another to overcome the anguish and sorrow that has broken their hearts, they should know that the entire country is by their side. extending our prayers' and love

and committed to action. the senseless cruelty and unspeakable violence inflicted upon the people of newtown and that took the lives of this precious angels, has changed our nation forever. we honor the acts of bravery, less celebrated the lives, even those cool the short to those we lost. and we now must embrace our solemn duty and moral responsibility to take action and honor the memory of the lost angels. they deserve nothing less. i yield back. >> a minute and a half to the gentleman from michigan. >> thank you, mr. chairman. a few weeks ago, my grandson stood here with me when i took my oath of office. one of the primus moments --

proudest moments of my life. michigan lame-duck legislators railroad michigan lost to permit persons to bring concealed firearms into schools, churches, hospitals, and sports stadiums. firearms have no place in our schools. the tragic marcy -- massacre at sandy hook is a heartbreaking reminder of this. last week, and as an children, babies, went to school, to a safe place where they left to be. six public servants went to school to the children they loved almost as much as their own. those six stroke lead died trying to save those precious gifts. 20 of those babies were savagely murdered. we witnessed this tremendous tragedy before. 32 innocent people shot to death

at virginia tech. 16 murdered at the university of texas at austin. 13 students and faculty murdered at columbine high school. i support reasonable gun ownership but this bill is unnecessary and goes too far. senate bill 59 is now sitting on governor snyder's desk. in the spirit of this resolution, i asked the governor on behalf of my grandchildren that he use his power to veto and not sign that bill. thank you. >> i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from georgia. >> thank you very much. the lord jesus said that suffer the litter children to come on to me for of they are the

kingdom of heaven. but jesus did not stop there. he spoke and then he acted. he rebuked his disciples, brought the children, picked each child up, put his hand on them, prayed with them. and then blast them. and just as a jesus spoke and acted the people of this country are expecting of this congress to speak but to act. the first order of business is to make sure this kind of tragedy never happens again the first order of business is to ban, to make illegal to own, manufacture, or sell, or possess this deadly weapon that was used to massacre least 20 children and these six

educators. bushmaster semiautomatic assault weapon, if dark going to -- if we are going to honor those children who were massacred, make sure that weapon will never be used again. if we do not do that, then this congress needs to hang its hat in shame. >> the gentleman's time has expired. 14 minutes remained. >> i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from michigan. >> mr. speaker, of all the

horror this country has had to endure, there is something else that is tragic and that is too many times someone who is mentally ill can only get treatment once they are arrested and locked up. treating the mentally ill only when they go to prison, it does not make sense. it costs too much money and many times that treatment comes too late. i am asking this house and this congress this week to protect all of the funding for mental

health treatment and substance abuse treatment. protect all of the funds from across-the-board cuts that could occur as a result of the fiscal cliff. i also ask all of us as americans to finally end the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse so that those who need treatment will no longer feel ashamed to see it. thank you and i yield back my time. >> i yield one and a half minutes to the gentle lady from california. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my colleague from connecticut in the way in which they have conducted themselves through this terrific tragedy. i really just came to sit and

listen. and to be here to support my colleague but i did want to say a few words because i have an opportunity to speak with the press in san diego over the last few days. i am almost haunted by the question i was asked me -- is this all going to go away? people will get on with their lives and time will - maybe something else horrible happen again. so what is it that we can do? i think it is a collective responsibility. the president, i believe, has to take the lead and he has begun to do that. we also have to reach out to our entire communities. there are differences throughout this country, of course there are. it is not even so much partisan differences. it is geographic it at the some cases. the way people live chosen to live and their backgrounds and

what they do. i think we would be pretty surprised if we have the kinds of meetings and out of this country so we allow that conversation to take place. because parents throughout my district and throughout the district of all my colleagues want to say something about how we can do better. i believe we can. if we cannot, then what are we about? thank the president for his comments. and my colleagues. could i have responded as well as they have? i express my profound sorrow to the families enduring the absolute unthinkable. we are all parents and grandparents here and we do identify and we want to make a difference. >> the gentle lady's time has expired. >> i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from new york.

>> i thank my wonderful colleague and dear friend for yielding to me. and congratulate him on his election to the united states senate. and for responding so beautifully to his constituents and to all of us in response to the terrible tragedy that happened. after the unfathomable tragedy, there is a growing determination and consensus that there has to be changed. we also realize that if there is no change, then we are destined to have yet another mass murder. this time the mass murder was of children, elementary children in their school with their teachers, and gunned down. there are too many mass murders in this country. we have more guns per capita

than any other country on earth. if guns made people safer, this country would be very safe. but what we have our innocent people being killed with assault weapons. assault weapons are not used to kill animals, they are not used in self-defense. these are weapons of war and when we return in january, senator feinstein and carol mccarthy will be introduced the assault ban bill. something we can do right now before we leave this body is passed hr 308. we have roughly 150 co-sponsors. what this bill would do is ban massacre magazines. these are the large capacity magazines that can have 100 rounds. limit it to 10 rounds.

it would have to stop then and reload. that is what saved people in the movie theater. they have to stop, it jammed. but these magazines can gun down people and we need to limit them. that is something we can do right now in this congress before we leave. but there are some who say any limitation on guns, weapons of mass destruction, can somehow limit their liberty. but they have to realize that their access to these weapons of mass destruction limits the liberty of other people. it means we need to lock more doors, that we need metal detectors everywhere, that we need cards, that we need more protection, even for movie theaters. even for children in school. we need to bring change. this bill would bring change. this is something we can do rice

now to show america that we respect the second amendment. we are not infringing upon law- abiding citizens to have their pistol. but we are saying these large capacity magazines that are used in war cannot be used on our school children in elementary school. let's come together in a bipartisan way and passed this bill. >> i thank the gentle lady from -- for those words. please have the democratic leader and i yelled to her. -- i yield to her. >> ticket, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in support of his resolution to condemn the act of a lone gunman in newtown, connecticut, and to offer

condolences of the family members and members of the community. i join him in saluting the courage of the teachers and administrators who gave their lives to save the children in their care. to thank the first responders to a live on the scene who not only got survivors to safety but to end the succession of killings happening. those first responders leave their home every day knowing they are going to face danger and they did that day as well. in the face of it, they were heroic, as were the teachers and counselors. this is all the meat to cook -- this has all been laid clear to us. congressman murphy, senator collect murphy, who represents this district would such a

distinction and compassion. congressman courtney, congressman john larson, jim hines. all of them spoke with such beauty at our service earlier. the candlelight service. it was so moving to hear their connection to the people there. the president said last night, this could have happened in a place. we cannot tolerate this any more, he said. these tragedies must end. and to end them, we must change. to change, our nation is already beginning to reassess the options before us. leaders from both parties have stepped forward to put forth a series of steps on the table from restoring the ban on

assault weapons to assault weapons -- assault magazines, to strengthening the system of background checks. we must address the challenge of mental-health to keep weapons out of the hands of those in danger in doing harm to themselves and to others. the voices of reason cannot be silence. we must limit the proliferation of weapons and munitions that have no other purpose than to kill citizens. our colleagues have talked about congressman maloney but others in the course of the evening, about legislation we could pass immediately. the american people expect us to do. that is to ban assault magazines. of course the want to ban assault weapons but to ban assault magazines -- why is it that somebody needs a magazine with 20 shots in its?

i have not even asking that rhetorically. i am asking it of those advocating we should not make this change. haven't we crossed a threshold when children in kindergarten are not safe? the people who go to the theater have someone come in and just kill people? i did not know what words we could ever use to come for the families of newtown, connecticut. as a mother and grandmother, i find it unspeakable, unthinkable. impossible to imagine. hopefully got will give them the

strength and courage to go forward. it reminded me of -- before i was in congress, i had the -- invitation from president carter to visit italy and we went there to deliver assistance from the night of state government after an earthquake in southern italy. the wanted -- one of the villages revisited, there was a rehearsal, the first communion. just about every seven-year old in the village was in church practicing for first communion. when the earthquake hit, every seven-year old in the village was gone. it was impossible to consult the people there. not only had the individually lost their child but the whole town have lost that class, their

future, their new growth, their hopes. their babies carried that transformed my thinking about how fragile life is. this was a natural disaster. what happened in newtown was a personal decision about someone whose judgment was the early impaired. how could he do this? because he had his own problems. how could he do this? because he had the guns. he had the assault magazine to do it. so let's at least try to mitigate circumstances that we may not be able to control entirely the mental condition of some one but a least limit the capacity to kill that that person has. hearing the reaction to this expressions of sympathy to the families come to see the president read the names and

hear the sobbing, this is something that has scarred our country. if we can do something about it to prevent it from happening again to this extent, maybe we can prevent it -- maybe we cannot prevent it all from happening but if you are going to take care of our people, we have to take care of them in many ways. address the issue of violence, mental-health, where mental- health and access to assault magazines comes together. people are calling the high- capacity. they are sold magazines. they make every weapon and assault weapon that they are compatible with. so yes be want to ban assault weapons but these assault magazines make every weapon is compatible with an assault weapon.

it does not take a lot to figure out what we need to do immediately and then maybe more later. wouldn't that be a comfort to these families to know that although they lost their babies that something would come of it that would prevent this from happening to others? i always wondered identify the bible when christ says suffered little children and come unto me. i guess it was an interpretation of the word supper -- suffere, but christ was calling children to him. he used the word suffer. these children, their lives are gone, their families are

suffering. the other children in the school, the neighborhood, children who have heard about this, are suffering too. about what it feels like to go to school and not be sure if you are safe. staying up at night, being sleepless in terms of being scared of what could happen. let's stop the suffering of our children, whether it is taking their lives, schering them from going to school, or keeping them up at night giving them nightmare's over their safety. he said the children did go on to have been, and better place. far too soon, far too many. but we can do something about it. i commend my colleagues for how they came together, led by the

community coming together. the community of newtown. such an inspiration to the country. so strong, so courageous, so sad. let's show them that not only do we offer words, we offer action. that action will take the form of passing this legislation to ban assault magazines. to do so in a timely fashion so that in a non un timely fashion, we will not lose any more lies. i want to commend the president for his beautiful words last night to the families and the community. a source of and -- a source of inspiration and strength. challenges to act. we cannot tolerate this any

more, he said. these tragedies must end and to end them, we must change. thank you for your leadership, taking mr. speaker. i yield back to the gentleman. >> take you very much -- thank you very much to the leader, my delegation, all that have come down this evening to publicly express this -- their support for families of newtown. i will leave everyone with final thoughts. first abbottabad newtown. it is a small town -- first a thought about newtown. it is a small town. the pride is the labor day parade, the biggest in the state. people from all over the state come to newtown on labor day. everybody in town spent half the year getting their floats,

marching ready. the school groups, the churches, community groups. it is a size of america, out of a norman rockwell painting. that is newtown. the closeness of this community, it makes the grief even deeper. everybody knows everybody. when a school, a community school with this many lost lives, it touches a little bit deeper. i think it also paints the path forward to recovery. people -- you do not have to go too far to have someone to grab your shoulder and give you a little bit of a boost. the closest of newtown makes it hurt more but it will also make us feel as well. we have great leaders as well. governor malloy was on the grounds with an hour and he

basically has not left. pat lodger, the first select woman, has been an inspiration. the police chief, all volunteers. these men and women in the fire department, none of them are getting paid and they have been out at the firehouse and in the community almost without and. and this final thought. sunday morning, senator bling fall and i went to church service at a local congregational church and a pack wrapped us -- grabbed us and said make sure this never happens again. the honest truth is we cannot make sure it never happens again. but we can make it much less likely and we can find ways to make sure that if someone does slip through the >>, -- through the cracks and set themselves on a path of destruction, it is nowhere near the scale of what

we saw. we are grieving now and we will join this process of figuring out where we go from here very soon. but it helps to know that we have the support and love and sympathy and thoughts of the united states house of representatives. it will help me to bring back this resolution to the people of newtown and connecticut. very shortly, we will join you, and join the president in figuring out a way to make sure that within our power, this does not happen again. i yield back to request the gentleman yield back. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the resolution is agreed to. in the mush -- the motion to reconsider is laid on the table >> c-span asked our viewers for their reaction to the schools to king -- school shooting. >> dunstan not kill people. people to people. that is the bottom line -- guns

don't kill people. people kill people. that is the bottom-line to request the said amendment was put in place -- that is the bottom line. the second amendment was put into place when muskets were still around. >> this boy at 20 did not have a strong father figure in his life, which he should have. there is so much of that going on in this country today. >> i am a former psychiatric nurse. i saw ronald reagan close of the hospitals it and the california and the mental institutions.

there's just not enough done for the mentally ill. >> i am getting rid of my guns. my husband was a police officer. he passed and i am getting rid of all of this guns. i did not think it worked out very well for [indiscernible0. >> if he studies mass shootings, everyone of these people has been under psychiatric treatment are they have been taking paxil or proxac. the pharmaceutical industry, they got 50% of kids in school taking prozac, they are creating these monsters. rex this a background checks. -- >> they say background checks.

if you have a temperament, and i carry weapons. i cannot carry a weapon. irid know i have a short fuse. -- i already know i have a short fuse. i can buy as many weapons as i want because i did not have a criminal record. than ever haves been handed out to schools -- two kids. -- to kids. whether it. paxil, ritalin, whatever. you cannot find a school shooting that did not have to do something with the kid that was raised on these drugs. >> what if we look at these kids and the violent video games they play? the consequences of taking these

guns and playing these games all day long. >> my solution is we will have to neighborhood melissa, we have to protect the most innocent of the innocent -- neighborhood militia. we have to protect the most innocent of and since. we need to arm our neighborhoods, citizens who are capable of handling these automatic weapons. let the criminal and mental element no progress in israel, they israelm16s at the schools -- let the criminal and mental andknow. >> in israel, israelhave -- they

have mi6's in school. we cannot put police officers in our schools or allow teachers to carry guns and in most districts. >> i do not think arming teachers in the school is a good idea. that is pretty irrational. you are exacerbating the fact of the whole situation. you can write all the gun laws you want -- there are over 30,000 right now. you are not gonna stop what happened in these school by writing more gun laws. to stop this chaos and all this terrible assault, you have to do a lot more for the family unit in this country. the family unit in this country is so broken, it is pathetic.

every school in the united states should have a police officer stationed at each school. it should be funded by the federal government. they need to step up. >> i have been calling in about all these people that want to put the policemen in every school in the country. i am guessing there are a billion schools in this country. so you're gonna find a million well trained, confient policemen to stand for eight or 10 hours at a school every day? it is impossible. it would be a lot better to find a confidence social worker for psychiatrist to help with the mentally ill. >> barack obama as being very hypocritical. because 20 white kids got killed. you was a senator of illinois

with one of the worst day in murders in the country and i did not hear anybody talking about the black kids being killed every day. i live in miami. it is one of the worst crime cities in the country. but i never hear anything about it. the only thing i hear is every time a white kid -- it is national, big news. let's talk about all kids. not just the white kids. >> one question to be answered is whether or not anybody can put forth a good reason for having these guns. give me an example of a time when it has come in handy and has worked for the benefit of someone. what are they needed? >> i have a comment about an earlier caller that said she was looking for a good example of why we should have these types of weapons. i'd like to point to the founding of this country.

without proper arms, it leaves our people unable to protect themselves from a tyrannical government. that is the purpose of the second amendment. >> assault guns are for the military. what is it that the five-year old lady going to do with an assault weapon? -- what is a 55-year-old lady going to do with an assault weapon? the president never said anything about assault weapons. now this right here, they shoudl -- they need to change. >> prior to 1968, no one had a background check. with no restrictions whatsoever. you could order direct mail, they would send you a semi- automatic pistol or rifle directly to your post office

box. the gun laws have changed. i defy anyone to look at the school shooting of 1968 or pryor and fined one terry >> when you have done -- you advertise to these mentally ill people that nobody can stop an intruder with a gun. >> the access our young children have to these by the videos is far more of a negative influence on them. these are the kind of things that lead to these incidents. >> next, and oral history with senator daniel inouye of hole why he died today at age 88. after that, nikki haley announces her choice to replace jim demint. later, the meetings of the north carolina and ohio electoral college. >> tuesday on washington

journal, national review columnist discusses gun control in the light of the mass shooting at an elementary school in conn. them more with allyson schwartz. she will talk about the house legislative agenda and ways to avoid the fiscal class. after that, marcia howard of the federal fund information for states talks about the impact seek restoration could have on states. washington journal, live at tuesday at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> one of the things that surprised me, i did not conduct a nationwide survey of gun owners, but among people who own guns i talked with, very often reaction -- your way of thinking before and after you have a gun is very different. i think any law-abiding gun

owner realizes when he or she has a gun, it is a huge responsibility. if you use this weapon irresponsibly or wrongly, you could get yourself into legal trouble and cause unnecessary misery and death, even, to people you did not intend to do harm to. it makes you very careful. it should make you very careful. for most people, it does. but i think it would make people more careful at the all have to pass some kind of a test. >> you have to do that before you can drive a car. >> and you do not always, before you get a gun. but the former new york times editor on the history of gun ownership and gun-control. from living with guns, saturday night at 10:00 eastern on book tv's afterwards.

daniel inouye way, democratic senator of paul iowa, died today at age 88, of respiratory illness at walter reed medical center in bethesda, maryland. next, an oral history interview with the senator from 2008. he talks of his childhood dreams of being an orthopedic surgeon. this is half an hour. >> will come to the latest interview in the united states capitol's society of historical interviews. i am a former member of congress from connecticut. i am a member of the united states capitol historical society. this interview with daniel inouye is part of a special series featuring asian-american

members of congress. current and former members relive their memories that have shaped their public careers. it is our hope that these recollections will provide mission -- listeners with a deeper recollection in this temple of liberty we know as the united states capitol. senator daniel inouye was born in honolulu, hawaii was born in 1924. in march, 1943 he enlisted in a combat team, the famed go for broke regiment. he saw combat in italy and southern france and was badly wounded during an engagement for which he was awarded a distinguished service cross of which was later upgraded to the medal of honor, our highest award for military valor. with financial assistance from

the g.i. bill, inouye graduated from the university of hawaii and the george washington university law school. daniel inouye won election to the united states house of representatives as the united -- the new state's first congressman. he is currently serving his eighth term in the united states senate. other people we have spoken to have talked about the first time they were sworn in as a member of congress. in 1959, you became the first member from hawaii. what was that like when you work first on the floor of the house of representatives? >> i spent some time in washington before this. i went to law school. i had never been on the floor of the chamber. it was an awesome experience for

me to be among a multitude of giants and have teh speaker of the house swear me in. it was a simple ceremony, but i will never forget it. >> when many people come to washington, they manage to find a mentor. a senior member that takes them under their wing. was there anybody that you looked up to in the early days? >> there were several. one was o'brien, who was the chairman of the subcommittee on territories. the congressman from colorado that was the chairman of the full committee, the interior committee, on day one, they took over and told me what to do and

what to get and what to buy. the third person tht is most astounding is the speaker of the house. on my first day, i found myself in my office all by myself with just furnishings, and nothing on the wall. the telephone rang. it was the speaker. he said, if you are free, come on over. i did not know where the speaker's office was. it was a hot day. i did not know that there was a subway. i ran across the grounds and finally made it up the steps. i learned enough, i use the tunnel. believe it or not, the speaker

gave me a tour of the capital. he showed me the shoeshine boy. if you pay him 25 cents, you can afford to give him a tip. this is the barber shop, this is the bank. he said that is where i sit. that is where you sit. sunday, you will sit there, in a chairman's place. i addressed mr. speaker. i will address you as the gentleman from hawaii. i will be damned if i will call you by your name since i cannot pronounced it. we got to be good friends. he invited me to the texas table because hawaii had no table in the dining room. the chicago fellows, the pennsylvania fellows were all good to me.

>> your colleague senator akaka and norm mineta, world war ii was an important event in their lives and yours, too. you served in the most decorated group in the rh and research the medal of honor. she can you tell us what you learn from that experience? >> there are certain things that haunt me even to this day. that is the realization that war can change a person's character and personality. one might be content saying i am a good person. one week before i got into the service and put on my uniform, i was a sunday school teacher. i sang in the choir.

my mother was a devout mess the dust. the women's christian temperance union. they do not get any more devout than that. after training and going overseas, i recall killing the first german. the thing that hauntws me is that i was jubilatant, i was proud and the guys around the patted me on the back. i just killed a human being. the fact that war can change somebody so drastically has stuck with me. when it comes to going to war, i am very cautious. for example, i voted against

giving the president the authorization to make a pre- emptive strike on iraq. i did not think it was a war that was fully justified and it was not a war we were prepared for. it has haunted me from my life. >> let's talk about how you got involved with politics and public service. when did you decide to enter politics? had your previous experience is prepared you for that? >> as a young boy, i shattered my arm. i was deeply impressed by the orthopedic surgeon that fixed me up. my goal in life was to become something like him. not just a surgeon, but an

orthopedic surgeon. portents then, i studied. when i got into college, my first semester, i got into premed. then i got old enough to volunteer. when i turned 18, i volunteered. when i was wounded and lost my arm, it became apparent that i could not be an orthopedic surgeon. my professors try to convince me to stay in medicine in some other field. i decided something else. in those days, the military gave you a whole series of examinations, written and otherwise, aptitude tests. after a whole battery of tests had been completed, the panel concluded thta i should be in

some sort of activity that involved a lot of people. i should be a teacher, social worker, minister, or politician. >> interesting combination. >> i checked out teacher and social worker. they were getting paid $125 a month in hawaii. i said, forget that. you cannot raise yourself on that. the ministry was not good for me because i sinned too much. my mother thought i would be fabulous. by knew zilch about politics. i did not care for it at the time. i took a look at it. when i got into the hospital in michigan, one of the fellows i

met there was bob dole. we became friends. when i asked him, what are your plans, and he, without hesitating said i am going to be a county clerk, after that i will run for the state house and when there is an opening in congress, that is where i will go. i said, that is a good idea. i went to law school and became assistant prosecutor. when the territory office became available, i ran for that office. when state could came along, i got to congress. -- statehood came along, i got to congress. >> you were in the territorial legislature before you got here. >> two terms in the house and a term in the senate.

sparks then you came here as a member of the house. who did you come here with it? >> only one member. you mentioned senator dole and the fact you had been in the hospital with him in michigan. it is amazing how some of these relationships were formed before public service. the senator from wyoming house and senate and meeting him when he was a boy scout together. you have a relationship with bob dole. >> the other is phil. the hospital is named after him. all three of us were in the hospital at the same time. >> that is amazing.

>> you were in the territorial legislature or when hawaii was going to become a state should you decide to run for congress. what prompted that decision and and what was that campaign mike in an area that had never experienced a campaign like that before? >> to be first in anything is a great experience. you are the pioneer. you do not know what the rules are. gn, this maypaing shock you, cost $15,000 for congress. this was the inaugural campaign for statehood. i had about 4000 grassroots workers. i got contributions totaling $5,000.

i was astounded that people would contribute such big sums. i accepted them and we ran on a budget of $15,000. my campaign for sen that cost $60,000. i will not tell you what my opponent spent. many, many, many times more than i did. when hawaii became a state, the party leader suggested i should run for the senate, which i did. then, about two weeks later, two other states been decided to run. one was a very distinguished judge and member of the legal fraternity. the other had served as

lieutenant governor. social services director, education director. so, i withdrew. that is the way i was brought up, to respect my elders. they noted that. the man that was elected for the short term said that i will survey short-term and i will retire and retire in favor of inouye. he told the people to vote for me. i ran for the senate in 1962 and here i am. >> you mentioned that the state of hawaii had one congressman. running for the senate is not a different area for you. was it difficult?

in the early days of statehood with several islands? >> it is much more interesting. today, you can literally stake in honolulu and campaign because you have television and radio and you have dvds you can send around. all i would rather go to these little village -- islands and campaign around the villages. that, to me, was exciting. i still do my best to go to these places. in about three weeks, i am going back to hawaii. in that time, this time i am visiting the island of kawai, a small island.

also, a privately owned island. there are people there that are my constituents. i want to see them and report to them what is happening here. i realize i could make more hay at in a school in honolulu meeting at thousands of people, more than meeting 200. i get my kicks out of that. >> in your senatorial career you have accomplished a great deal and then there a long time. one of the most important congressional investigations of recent history involve you. you were involved as one of the investigators in the watergate committee and the i ran out--- iran-contra meetings. how much has this inform your thoughts regarding service and

the country? >> my service as an assistant prosecutor did not mean that much. one thing that impressed was that in this land, nobody is above the law. in other places if you are king or emperor or dictator, you are above the law, you make the law. the president is subject to the law. he has to answer for his misdeeds. that really impressed me. you read about it in books. to see it in operation is something else. the other thing that impressed me about the experience is the awesome power of the media and television especially. up until then, i was totally

unknown, other than hawaii, which is not even 1% of the population. after watergate, i began receiving not just 10's of letters, but hundreds of thousands of letters. mr. gallup called and said according to the latest poll, the most recognizable person is the president of the united states. guess who is next to him, it is you. how can i be? he said that you look different. the media can be powerful. >> on one of the important issues facing the nation's is

not balancing the need for national security and maintaining the freedom that the nation needs. what is your focus? >> maintaining our security and needs it is important. to do that at the expense of destroying our human rights and civil rights is not acceptable. i would say that if a matter is so severe that we are on the verge of war, and people should be aware that certain things what happened and are happening. if we are going to tap the telephones, i think the united states people should be aware of who we are tapping and why we are tapping. it should not be done in the covert darkness. >> you were elected to represent hawaii and then the house. you have been in the senate since 1963. of your many legislative

accomplishments, when was the at native hawaiian education act and the other was the native hawaiian health care act. which was most important to you? >> it goes back to my mother. her parents were plantation workers. at that moment, there was not social services in the territory of hawaii. she was literally off in the states. along came a young hawaiian couple that took her hand and took her own. that was the way to do it. they adopted her.l lived with her as an adopted child for a year. she always reminded me what a gentle people these hawaiians were. as a result, they have been

exploited, taken advantage of. you must do your best to protect them. when i became a politician, hawaiians were on the bottom of the social, economic, and political ladder. i did my best to make sure they were provided that the basic necessities. over and above what we were providing. they lived in the slums. they lived in the equivalent of reservations out in the countryside at far from the center of civilization in hawaii. we brought medicine and education up there. >> in a recent book "be

broken branch" has argued that increasing partisanship has undermined confidence in the constitution expandability for it to perform its constitutional role. have you noticed an increasing partisanship? has that hindered the ability of congress to legislate? assuming there is a problem, what do you see as the solution? >> at times, i would like to describe it as two different worlds. the world i was introduced to in 1959 was not a partisan world. it was a world in which debates were loud and clear. after the debates were over, the men would get together for a smoke or a drink or have dinner

together or visit each other and discuss problems. you found democrats with their best friends being republicans and vice versa. that was very common. that is something you do not see today. i have tried my very best to be as non-partisan as i can be. it is no secret, one of my best buddies is the senator is from alaska, stevens. i like him. we do not agree. according to the record keeping, i think we disagree about 70% of the time. as we agree upon, if we diagree,

let's not be disagreeable. that makes a big difference. when we disagree, we disagree and we explained as civilly as possible while we do so. when we agree, we work together hand in glove. on the commerce committee and the defense committee, you can see the difference. we are very productive. the defense appropriations bill years passedsix unanimously. >> it is almost as if people get elected today thinking that they should despite the person on the other side of the aisle and they do not even know them.

i agree the idea of yelling and screaming and fighting for principle and then going to dinner is a time honored tradition that has really disappeared. >> this is the land of immigrants. it is not europe, it is not asia, it is not africa. it is a combination of all. the only so-called natives were the indians. the rest of us were foreigners. sometimes, we forget that. >> what do you see as a solution to this problem? is there a solution? >> those of us that are a bit older should make an extra effort to demonstrate what non- partisanship can result in. i do that in my regular work.

showing my colleagues that you can see all of these things happening. those that serve on our committees get the message. >> with your committee is especially and your relationship with ted stevens, as the politics have changed over the years and the democrats control one time or republicans the next, it has never seemed to make much difference on your committee with the ability to produce great results because of your ability to work together. >> if there is an incumbent republican running, i avoid going to that state. if you go into that state and say nasty things about him, he will not forget it when he gets back. >> our final question is the

legacy question. over and above the things you have accomplished or yet to accomplish, how would you like to be remembered? >> this may sound foolish, but i just want people to know that i tried my best. >> cannot ask for any more than that. senator, thank you very much. >> senator daniel inouye died at walter reed medical center. he was a world war ii medal of honor winner. >> madame president, it is very difficult for me to rise today with a heavy heart to bid oloha

to my friend, and colleague, and brother, daniel inouye. it is hard for me to believe the terrible news i received is true. senator inouye was a true patriot, an american hero in every sense. he is, at this time in hawaii, the greatest leader. he served this country as a

soldier, receiving the highest honor the nation can bestow. about how we can serve this nation, it is difficult to believe the difficulty we had as japanese americans to be a part of this nation's military. they were denied. they were considered aliens of this country. he was one of those that wanted to serve his country. he went to the highest levels to

receive that dignity. eventually, they were given the honor of serving our country. as we now know, they became the greatest unit in military history, with the most decorations of any unit and also with the highest levels of decoration of the medal of honor. he served as the third longest serving member of the u.s. senate in our nation's history. he served as a defender of the

people of this country, championing historic charges forceable rights, equal rights for asian americans, african americans, and native hawaiians. it is an incredible understatement to call him an institution. this chamber will never be the same without him. i remember in our childhood in hawaii, hawaii is a diversified place. where i lived, there were many

japanese families that live around us. there were many nights i spent sleeping in the homes of japanese families. eating their food, sleeping on the floor. i was really brought up with the japanese families. when the war broke out, i couldn't understand what was happening. there were families that were removed from the community and at that time,but they pursued iy wanted to serve this country as

well. this is why in my time in congress, i did focus on trying to help the japanese americans in this country and asians in this country. and to help them achieve what they really aren't. i remember seeking the medal of honor for the unit and for those who fought in world war ii. i provided the pentagon with 100 names from these units. and was really surprised that

there were finally 21 of them dealt a selected for the medal of honor senator inouye was one of them. but that showed they were willing to give their lives for this country, and they did. and since then, he has continued to serve his country. all used the g.i. bill to be educated. in hawaii, we went to the university of hawaii and graduated there and what on to further decrease -- degrees and came back in a sense as those who could help the community and

became leaders in the communities. and in the case of senator inouye, they were the ones that turned the tide in hawaii politically and since 1954 and by 1959, we became a state senator inouye ran for office. was our first member of the house and after one term moved to the senate. labonge as a result, and senator was elected to the house -- and as a result, a senator was

elected to the house and served in the senate as well. he also was a member of the 100 infantry during world war ii. but the japanese americans really served our country well and dan inoye is one of those great leaders in the history of this country. through my career in congress, i have been proud to be on dan's team. we worked together on everything from appropriations to native hawaiian rights to veterans. all of us in hawaii looked up to him and we are so sad to see him

go. he leaves behind him a list of accomplishments unlikely to ever be paralleled. his life on that occasion and on work in the name of his beloved country, the united states of america, and pull with every part of his life and set him apart. he was a fierce advocate as a senior member on several committees and the way he conducted himself commanded respect from all whom he worked with. his legacy is not only the loving family he leaves behind. it can be seen in every mile of

every road identify e -- in hawaii and every place that makes hawaii a safer place. he fell to his dream of creating a better hawaii. he gave us access -- he fulfilled his dream of creating a better hawaii. he gave us access. tomorrow will be the first day since hawaii became a state in 1959 that dan inouye will not be representing us in congress. every child born in hawaii will learn of dan inouye.

faymann who changed the island forever. -- a man who changed the island forever. i join all the people of hawaii tonight, frank for his wife irene and son ken and daughter in law, stepdaughter, and granddaughter, maggie. tickled his life. whenever i had a chance to chat with him, we talked about mag gie. they bought him some much joy in this life in kerry legacy ford i'm going to mess -- life and

carry is legacy forward. i am going to miss dan. he represented a true american. he represented a true hawaiian and has served hawaii and this country well. dan and i have worked so well together all these years. when i was in the house appropriations committee there, we worked very well between the house and the senate.

many of the renovations that have come about in hawaii was because of dan. and he really helped to shape hawaii and this great country. but he brought here on earth a kind of life that people of our country and this world can follow and a great citizens of the world -- and be great citizens of the world. my dear friend and colleague, he will be missed in washington as much as you will be missed in hawaii.

rest in peace. god bless you and your spirit. >> senator inouye died today of a respiratory illness at walter reed. he was the world war two medal of honor recipient and served 50 years in the senate. he was 88. tuesday, leon panetta speaks at the national press club. secretary panetta who visited afghanistan last wednesday, will discuss defense policy and the challenges facing the u.s. military. see it live starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> monday, south carolina governor nikki haley announced

she will -- appoint republican senator tim scott to the senate. he's the first african-american republican to serve in the senate since the 1970's and the first black senator from the south since reconstruction. he replaces jim demint who will resign to head the heritage foundation. >> the heritage foundation is blessed. he will lift them up to an amazing level. it is a foundation i have always had great respect for. they could not have made a more perfect pick. in this decision and process went through, there is no replacing jim demint. there is no one that can fill

his shoes. there is the one that can really carry on that course. i think that says a lot about him. i think it does a lot about how he has changed south carolina in a way we have a lot to be proud of. this is a new day. it is with great pleasure that i am announcing that i am appointing our next u.s. senator to be congressman, tim scott. [applause] many people have asked what went into this decision process and it was simple. he understands the strength need to have as we continue to focus on jobs. he has shown that with his support knowing the deepening needs to be there.

he has shown courage with this fiscal representation. he knows the value of a dollar. he understands what every family in small business goes through. it also shows that this man of south carolina. he is very aware that what he does and every vote he makes a backstop carolina and our country. it is with that that i knew he was the right person. they understand that this is the right u.s. senator for our state and country. it is very important to me as a minority female that congressman scott earned this seat. he earned this seat before the results he has shown. he earned this seat for what i know he is going to do in making south carolina and our country proud.

with that i would like to introduce to you our senate select tim scott. >> thank you. thank you. >> thank you very much. this is a great day of celebration. our nation still mourning. i would like to take a moment of silence for newtown. will you join me please? thank you. this is an exciting day for many reasons. i went to state thank you to my

lord and savior jesus christ, to be honest with you. [applause] when you start out in a single- parent household with a mom who work 16 hours a day and you're looking at a future that is not look bright and you are living in south carolina, you build a strength that comes from having the understanding that it is not about you. it is about your faith. it is about your family. i love my mother who is here with me. and painful for the good lord who believe sometimes the love has to come at the end of a switch. she loves me and a lot. i failed a civics, spanish, and english. my mother did not quit on me.

i had the good fortune of meeting a mentor who taught me some very basic biblical business principles. it has served me well. our nation finds itself in a situation where we need to make very difficult decisions. so often we have the conversation about how we create enough revenues for all the problems. if you have a problem is spending there is not enough revenue to make up for it. we have a spending problem. it is very difficult for us to fix the problems in the nation was $16 trillion of debt with an annual deficit of $20 million by revenue on the top to%.

you could take all the revenue any simply cannot close the into a deficit. that is a challenge. senator jim demint has led in a way that few others has led. he has been consistent and transparent. that is why there is no way to have another in america. thankfully we do not lose a jim demint. we saw him going to a bigger opportunity to influence america. i look forward to working with senator lindsey graham. there is no one else in south carolina. he understands foreign affairs are real.

i look forward to learning more about foreign affairs. i will also say that over the last two years i've had the privilege of gaining a new family. we do not look alike but sometimes we do. everyone from joe wilson who we refer to as the scoutmaster and jeff duncan who is not here with us, i have been afforded the great opportunities in the world to serve in the house of representatives. what has made more meaningful is to have served with these four guys and our scoutmaster. i look forward to continue to build. i have not won anything yet in the senate. i have to run for reelection in 2014. i look for to the opportunity to

introduce myself to citizens throughout this great state. the future is incredibly bright for america. we have our challenges. we have things we have to overcome. boy does the future look great in south carolina. we are good together. they're better together. our future will reflect the good opportunities coming to our nation. i wanted to say to the governor, watching her from a distance has been incredible. i cannot imagine the daily pressures of governing this great state. i cannot imagine the areas that have flowed away all the time.

i can see with clarity the conviction and integrity and character that you have given. south carolina is better because we have niki haley as our governor. we have the opportunity to work on making sure our economy in this day continues to hum like an engine and get on a team with nicky haley. thank you very much. >> thank you. now to our conservative rock star for the state of south carolina. >> when you say there'll never be anyone like me in the senate

again, most of washington says thank goodness. i am excited about what is going on today. when the few things i worried about when i was considering leaving the senate was who would replace me. i knew governor haley would put someone in this seat that we would all be proud of and continue to stand for those principles of freedom and opportunity. governor, thank you for your infamous this to our cause and for your good judgment. tim, i cannot be happier today. i appreciate the compliment. i can walk away from the senate knowing someone is in the seat that is better than i am.

that will carry that place of opportunity and conservatism to the whole country anyway i cannot do. and when to keep working. our country needs those positive optimistic voices right now to encourage people that there is a way out of this quagmire we are in in washington. you have the right ideas. i know you will inspire a lot of people. thank you for be willing to do this. i had a mom understood the best ideas were at the end of a switch, too. i want to say few words about senator lindsey graham is been a good guy to me. sometimes he has been the good guy. we have worked really well together in washington. he is a great senator. i've been proud to serve with him.

i will continue to work with them for my approach over the heritage foundation. i feel the same way you do about our congressional delegation. i cannot be prouder of our state for sending folks to stan in washington and fight for the right ideas. they certainly have a lot of integrity and courage. it has been an honor and privilege to serve people in the united states senate. we are so thankful for the encouragement and support over the years. everywhere we go people say thank you for fighting. we're praying for you. so often i hear people say what can i do? people in this they want to make a difference. it really has inspired me to take that idea all around the country. i have seen that if we take our case to the american people we

can change what happens in washington. it is to assess forward and one step back. we can change the face of the senate. we have changed things that were so parochial that they interfered with our national good. we have been able to get the conversation moving in the right direction but only because of people all across the nation like people in south carolina who are willing to get engaged, involved and to make a difference. most people agree that our country is on an unsustainable course. last week gov. mitch daniels said the policies will essentially bring our country down. friends of freedom have to be ready with the new infrastructure. the reason i am leaving the senate is i believe this idea of taking the case as do the american people is something i can do much more effectively from the heritage foundation

knowing my seat is filled with someone who will continue to take the stand we need in the senate. the heritage foundation continues to develop the best ideas that work and to present them all over the country. i have talked to a number of governors since i made this decision to gov.. they realize what the governor is doing is likely to end up with some type of meltdown. all over the country states are implementing these conservative ideas. we see states like michigan join us. we do not force people to join unions and economies move and want to be a part of what is happening.

when you get more parents choices of education, it tells all children, low-income children, we see it all over the country. we can prove it with research. when states have the right for their own energy, the revenues that come into the government help build better roads, better schools, and keep taxes lower. that is an opportunity i hope we can have in south carolina. this could be more efficient and do much better than we can do under the federal area. the principles of freedom are working. we need to spot like them, a showcase them, communicate them so people see that these ideas work. at the same time, they're going to be able to look to washington and see that the ideas that emplace are dragging us down.

when washington hits a wall, the friends of freedom in south carolina and all over the country are going to be ready not with political ideas of american ideas, ideas we now are working that we can show they're working for 100% of americans. that is what i am going to be doing for the next few years. i know that i have a partner now in tim scott as well as lyndsey graham and i am so grateful for the of the opportunity to serve. i promise you i will keep serving in fighting in the same way you have seen in the past. thank you. [applause] >> i can tell you one of the things as they travel across the country, everybody wants to know how in the world we got the best federal delegation in the

country. all i tell them is a softer line is blessed. we have a great group of legislators they get what we want and the fight for it. they do not just go along with the pack. i am thankful that so many members came here to be supportive of tim. i also want to make sure the we have our senior senator who i enjoyed working with. senator graham. >> if you add up all the courses, people would begin to understand how the government works. here is the good news. i made 800 on the s.a.t.. don't worry. you're going to do really well.

i think we have been doing this for almost 20 years. but there is ever a contest for being over your head. i have really enjoyed your family. you have four great kids and grandkids coming to almost month it seems like. debbie has been a great partner to you. i think life is going to have some stability in have not had before. you started your career as excited and motivated. some people ask me what happened to jim? let me tell you. jim felt the country is not going to change without somebody making it change. it is out of a sense of frustration that you have to do

some things by yourself. i am here to tell you you change things. your leaving the senate is going to be tough. together we're able to the south carolina on the map. i've enjoyed the experience in taking the issues with our day whether it be at home or washington and try to push the envelope. when you leave i want you to realize that all of us understand you took the road less traveled in washington. it is not your nature to be the only voice. and the fact you're willing to do it shows how much you care about our country and state. you will be someone who will be listened to because of what he had done for the last four years. you're better off for a. i will miss you.

gov. haley, it is like picking a judge. filling a seat had to be tough. just look at the people she could have chosen from. we have a really deep bench in south carolina. you chose wisely. if these walls could talk what would they say? just think of the conversation that happened in this building. during the history of our state. i cannot help but say the obvious. you did earn everything that comes your way. i am proud to see it come. about him, the pay is the same.

i can only imagines how you felt about it. of that work and effort i was so good i never got whipped. that is not true. we and knowledge would you have done. there are so many people like you in this nation. i am sure that stem trounces blessings everyday to have the families and friends he has had. if you do not have a key chain you will by the end of the day. joe is the dean of the delegation. i never met anyone who enjoys his job more. he and roxanne have raised four grade boys on the military. the men and women in military

had a stronger friend then joe wilson. your mind to be the next paul ryan. just keep being who you are. that guy is a wicked smart. he is a problem solver. he will advance the cause on the fiscal side. he will be the next paul ryan. tree comes from the most conservative part of the state. he can roll a punch. he can do it in a way that the colleagues respected. there is no one on legal issues. the way you conduct yourself makes us so proud. jeff passed legislation that will make the state energy independent. tom brings to the table problem solving.

you understand your district. it has a lot of opportunity. that is the american dream. it brings tied to the delegation. welcome. the only advice i can give you is you got here by tim scott. that will be good for our state. you have a unique opportunity for the conservative cause. i want to help you where i can and anything office can do to help the is started will do. the only a vice i can give you this is he being the good person you are. that's only is he good at being

a congressman who will be good at being a senator. he will be a better politician. he can inspire kids in a way you need. you can do more good in any ways and peace legislation. i cannot way to work with you. governor, you are tough. you are one tough lady. you put up with more crap than anybody i know in politics. i just want to be that blunt about it. i want to help you because you are very enthusiastic. i have been around for a while now. i never seen anybody work harder to put our state on the map. you're recruiting some of the most important business enterprises. the whole delegation stands behind you and what you can do to seal the deal. as to our nation, but these are tough times. 2013 is going to be one heck of

a challenge. how do you get the revenue and the spending right? the one thing i can tell you about him is he understands math. did he spend more than you make you will destroy the american dream. help us outside the body save the american dream. i do not see how young people can do as well as all of us unless we make some changes. we are here and a tough time for this country. we have our backs against the wall financially. the world is more dangerous than any time i have seen. ifre's a thing we cannot do we continue to work together. we are a blessed nation. there's no substitute for american leadership. when it comes to trying to

explain what america is all about it cannot tell a better story. tim is what america is all about. [applause] >> as you can tell, i am one proud governor. i think we will be one proud state today. i want to thank everybody here. and now with all of our friends in cameras you have questions. we can open it up to anyone. >> [no microphone] >> the one thing the republican party needs to understand is the answer to winning an election is never about the messenger. it is never about what the messenger of looks like. it is about the message.

that is what needs to be understood. the message of what we believe in and letting the market work and being fiscally conservative any cannot continue to raise the debt over and over again and think something will fix it. yet to make sure you are creating pro-business environments. you are seeing south carolina be successful because of results, not because of what the governor looks like. you'll see the u.s. senate become stronger because of the results. he earned a spot. i understand teammate history today. i also believe in the people of south carolina and the people of this country. as the daughter of indian immigrants who saw you can be anything you want to be and nothing can get in your way, i

want to remind everybody that it is not the messenger. it will always be the message. tim scott has the right message. >> if you get the message write and market its well, people listen. america is still a center right nation. the better we get at marketing our investments the market will resonate. fresh faces and authenticity goes a long way. this message of conservatism will reach the end of this nation in a positive way. i look forward to having an opportunity to think of a message as a have been. >> [no microphone]

>> remember this humble moment. [laughter] >> what does this mean for you personally? >> 18 years ago the citizens of charleston county give me an opportunity to represent them based on values and issues. a couple years later the folks in the state house seats in an opportunity to represent their issues and values. a few years ago they give me an opportunity to represent their issues in value. i'm not ever really heard, besides the fact or because you are black, here's what we want to do. it is about values and issues. it speaks to the issue of south carolina and our nation. it speaks to the heart of the good people of our nation and state.

more importantly than the complexion i have, that it is more important bring up in a single household. it did not give up on your kids. it may be tough. it all may be challenging. all things may be truly possible in this nation. i was speaking to jim clyburn any said he did not know what to think. when it comes to things specific to south carolina are delicate works incredibly well as a team. >> [no microphone] >> not if i am smart.

>> if you are elected to senate, how do you feel about term limits? >> i believe in term limits. i will certainly have a certain number of terms. if you start in the middle, where you go from there? i think 14 years is a good place at this time. better than the first 1 or the second one. it is a really matter much. my understanding is january the third. >> what you think he can accomplish now that your signature? >> i we put in more miles on my tires across this state. two years to be reelected by 2014.

one of the things we work on will be the same thing in the house. when you look at the problems of our country, they are simply spending problems primarily. we cannot address many of the issues and challenges that really affect americans. that starts at home. the things we can affect in congress are a spending trajectory. when you are boring 42 cents on the dollar to spend your probably on the wrong track. we have a $16 trillion debt you are probably on the wrong track. when your entitlement reform is so far removed, you're definitely on the wrong track. if we are to continue to grow our economy, we're going to have to look at pro-growth principles and make sure that is the future of america. that is what you have heard so much conversation about raising

taxes. you almost overnight eliminate over 700,000 new jobs. over regulatory reform, you're talking about another 800,000 jobs. that is not the right direction. my objective is to start with the conversation of tax reform and spending control. >> how closely do you identify with the tea party movement? >> i would think that most members are the two-party fiscally. you believe in limited government, lower taxes, and keeping the government out of your pocket, free markets. those are the basic tenets of the people. that would be a decisive yes.

>> how are some ways they might be a different signature? >> we look at his scorecard with the heritage action. he was 98 and i was closing in on and 80. getting there were a couple of votes that separated us. other than that i'm not quite sure where we disagree. i would think philosophically we're on the same pace. hopefully we will continue to work together. i look forward to hearing more from the senator. >> last question. >> [no microphone] >> i think he would say do not forget it is about going up in life. it is about moving forward.

we define that differently. some see the senate as a move up. i certainly do as well in a way. i am hoping that the message the good lord place of my heart is a leap forward. we will have an opportunity to let the message of real hope and opportunity resonates in places where it has not been before. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> coming up, the north carolina electoral college meets to cast their votes for president. that is followed by the ohio and electoral college meeting. later, congressional reaction to the sandy hook elementary school

shooting in connecticut. today, the 15 members of north carolina's electoral college cast their electoral votes for u.s. president and vice- president. all 15 members voted for mitt romney and paul ryan. in total, there are 538 members of the electoral college. the candidate must receive at least 270 votes to become president. mitt romney won north carolina over president obama received 48%. this is the 56th meet -- meeting of the north carolina and electoral college. this is 50 minutes. >> welcome, everyone, to the 56th meeting of the north carolina electoral college. this is an exciting and historic day in north carolina and in our nation. i am your secretary of state in

late marshall. i think you all for being here today. if you do have a debt -- if you do have a device that makes an interesting sound, take care of that. please be mindful of the uneven floor and in various places of this chamber. i also want to send greetings to those joining us across the hallway in this historic senate chamber and a special greeting to everyone who is watching and listening over satellite streaming video and on the secretary of state's website or who are watching thanks to the many other media outlets broadcasting this event. the north carolina secretary of state is designated to convene the college. in this historic old house chamber, a location of significant importance to the history of our state. today's event is no different. it adds to the very history of this chamber.

likewise, the history of the electoral college has been notable. north carolina did not participate in the very first presidential election because north carolina did not ratify the constitution until after passage of the bill of rights. only then did north carolina officially joined -- [indiscernible] today, we are gathered to certify the will of the people of north carolina who voted in the presidential election in november this year. the electors who are gathered here today have studied the election laws of north carolina as they pertain to presidential elections. i know they come here ready to do their duty as proud citizens of the united states of america and the great state of north carolina. i will note that the voters of our state turned out in big numbers and were actively engaged in this past

presidential election. i hope many of those voters have to be in today to see that process reach a completion. our ceremonies have been planned to reflect a snapshot in time that is of north carolina, 2012. the colors will be presented by the north carolina national guard, honor guard. i am sure that many of you know the men and women of our state's national guard have been serving and defending this nation overseas in great numbers and inspiring distinction. in recognition of our north carolinans serving in the national guard, we have invited them for the presentation of colors. i am so proud they are representing us today. annette etheridge will sing our

national anthem. if you have stopped by the capital recently, you may have a bent lucky enough to hear her singing holiday songs in this building. finally, i am very proud to have a fine group of representatives from north carolina forage with us today. these young people are our future leaders, and i am so pleased -- [inaudible] perhaps the single beetroot for these young people. we have our north carolina 4h president. the southeast district president and the 2011-2012 state secretary of the treasury. will you please rise as you are able as the north carolina national guard presents the

colors of our country and state?

[singing "the national anthem"] ♪

>> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> will you please remain standing as the color guard retires and departs from the chamber?

thank you, north carolina national guard and state leaders. now like to introduce our pastor of the first baptist church in raleigh, north carolina to give the indication. he spent most of his life in california, including earning above his master's and doctor of divinity degrees at claremont before being called to lead as pastor here in raleigh. the doctor has traveled the world on behalf of american baptist churches and often teaches theology as well as serve as the congregation here. >> as we gathered for this

historic occasion, we are mindful of the sadness in our nation today for our brothers and sisters in newtown, connecticut. before we pray, i would invite you to join me in a moment of silence and prayer from your own fate tradition. -- faith tradition. the eternal god, our heavenly father, we are grateful for your presence in times like these for we know that in times like these, we need a savior. in times like these, we need an angel. we are very sure that that anchor grips a solid rock.

as we gather in these moments and celebrate the history of this great state, we thank you for our secretary of state. we thank you lord for these colors that have been presented that our promises to every citizen in the united states for freedom and justice. we thank you for our national anthem that reminds us of such, as we celebrate the beauty of this nation, filled with opportunity and wonderment, we'd come up for the pledge of allegiance where we are called once again to dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of happiness for all of our citizens and for those in the great state of north carolina. lord, as we gather in these moments, we thank you for the meaning of the season, which causes us to recognize that there is light even in the midst

of darkness. thank you lord for the power of your word and the promise of your word, that the word has become flash and walz among us. -- dwells among us. you have offered to us the gifts for the season that will take us far beyond the month of december, and that is the gift of grace and the gift of truth. bless the members of this great community of electors. we pray in a special way for the candidates. we pray for those who are leaders not only this state, but also in this nation. we pray that you give them courage to fight the good fight. we pray that you would surround them with your lease. and with your -- with your holy

spirit and your strength. that we might reach four, struggle for a better nation that represents peace and a loving community. we commit to you and we received your promise with joy as we say, lord, i am with you always, even until the end of the age. it is in the name of jesus, our christ the lord, that we pray, amen. >> thank you, doctor. you may be seated. we have an number of distinguished guests with us today, including some of my compatriots from the north carolina council of state, including the state auditor, the commissioner of insurance, wayne goodman, and superintendent -- the

superintendent. we also have rick cobb, secretary of administration of moses carey, the state comptroller, the secretary of health and human services, secretary of public safety, chief deputy secretary of cultural resources. representing our judicial branch of government, we have from our north carolina supreme court chief justice sarah parker, justice robert edmond, justice robin hudson, justice barbara jackson, justice mark martin,

and justice patrician -- patricia goodson. we have legislative services officer george hall, cleark of the north carolina house, clerk of the north carolina senate. we are also pleased to have representatives from the governor's office here, including the general counsel mark davis, as well as mickey jones, and our single -- and our center -- our singer anette etheridge. thank you all for being here. as north carolina becomes more

global, we are mindful that our impact in the world is significant, as evidenced by the fact that we have summit for and councils in north carolina. three of them are here with us today. the honorary consul of france, the honorary consul of sweden, and i suppose the dean of our council delegation, the honoraria council from moldova -- honorary consul from moldova. we have a delegation from st. mary's school here today watching this historic proceeding. we thank them for this moment in north carolina and united states history. as we prepare to begin the voting process for the north carolina electoral college, i would like to take a moment to reflect on the importance of this institution. this is the 56 north carolina four college meeting, and it

represents a proud history of citizens peacefully passing on presidential power from one term in office to the next. today's activities are a combination of constitutional law, federal law, and state law. it seems to me that the electoral college is something that most americans remember just once every four years. it starts with people, when they start reading a campaign stories and watching news stories, that began with the questions of, how many votes to each state get? the uncertain political junkies will follow in news from particular states because of our electoral college predictions are trent -- are trending. as for the institution itself, it gets its own share of scrutiny of every four years as soon as the presidential election and spirit political scientists recently -- as soon

as the presidential election ends. a lot of people do not realize what a thought out a compromise it was to make the system. a debate raged about how to select the president. ideas have included having the president elected by congress or perhaps by some type of national convention where powerful people or other officials in society and make the choice. while small less populous states worried that appear vote count method would leave them for ever ignored. in the end, this system was designed for several reasons. those reasons included that the meetings he held throughout the 50 states vs one convention, to keep the sites separate. a lack doors cannot also be a powerful public officials -- in lectors cannot the powerful

public officials. -- electors cannot be powerful public officials. that is what people are gathering today and state capitals to conclude the 2012 presidential campaign in a formal sense and to move us towards the 2013 presidential inauguration in washington, d.c. the electoral college we experience today may remain as it is now for another 200 years or it may change by the next presidential election. no matter what happens, a peaceful form of transferring political power must endure. supporting that highest calling is something we can all promise to cherish and maintained. whether your side or your candidate won or lost in the most recent elections, one thing is for sure -- recent elections have renewed citizens' interests for an appreciation in the political process.

you see that in the higher number of people registering to vote and actually voting. governor mitt romney said this in his concession speech the night of november 6, "the nation is at a critical point. at a time like this, we cannot risk partisan bickering and political posturing. our leaders need to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we citizens also have to rise to the occasion. " i believe that as well. just as i believe what president obama said that same night in november, "we're not as divided as our politics suggest, we are not as cynical as the pundits believe. we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of

red states and blue states. we are and forever will be the united states of america." which brings us to this place in time. i am often asked, how does a citizen become an electorate? the process is fairly simple -- a fairly simple. you must be a citizen over 21 years of age, and eligible to vote. you also cannot be a federal officeholder or certain kinds of other public officials. then you offer your name to a political party for consideration. generally, the political parties pick their select or reject their elector nominees at their annual pellicle conventions in each election year. those names are submitted by the office of the secretary of state and they are held until the election in november. once we wait and see which

candidate has been certified to us, we then call those electors. elect our nominees from the different political parties simply wait to see who the voters vote for as president and vice president, which means in reality, when the voters of north carolina voted this past november, there were actually boating to pick this slate of directors instead of voting directly for the president and vice-president. as we moved to the formal meeting of electrons, i would like to introduce our electors to this gathering. the 15 republican electors were assembled here to cast the 15 south carolina electorate votes president and vice-president. as i introduce each elector, would you please rise and remain standing throughout the administration of the oath. we will begin with our two at large collectors, collector at

large felice pete of raleigh, and gary terry. not to our district elect doors -- from the first district, from the second district, robert levy, ashley woolard, fourth district, michael esser, fifth district, charles barrett, sixth district, david rubin, seventh district, barbara hines, eighth district, don abernathy, ninth district, mary jo shepherd, 10th

district, will initially tell -- william shalikto, 12th district, paul penny, 13th district, james polk -- pope. thank you. let's give them some applause. [applause] it is now my tremendous pleasure to ask chief justice sarah parker of the north carolina supreme court to administer the oath of office to the members of the electoral college. justice parker has served the people of the north -- of north carolina as a practicing attorney, as a judge on the north carolina court of appeals, and now as chief justice of the north carolina supreme court.

justice parker? >> if you would please, please your left hand on the bible and raise your right hand. do you and each of you solemnly and sincerely swear that you will support the constitution of the united states, that you'll be faithful abate true allegiance to a softer line and the constitutional authorities that are or which may be status -- established at the governor's wishes, that you will maintain the constitution of a sad state, not inconsistent with the constitution of the united states, to the best of your knowledge and ability, and do you for their sully and sincerely swear that you will execute the duties of the office a lot toward -- of elector for the president and vice president of the united states of america according to the best of your

skill and ability, according to law, so help you god? >> i do. >> congratulations to each of you. >> the of having been administered, please be seated. the electoral college will now select its officers and proceed with its business. i open the floor for the nomination of president of the electoral college. i recognize james proctor of the first district for the purpose of nominating and electric for the purpose of president of the college. >> madam secretary, i nominate robert levy, the elector from the second district or president of the electoral college. mr. levy is a lifelong republican. he is well versed in the rules of order. he should be more than capable of conducting the business of this meeting. >> ladies and gentlemen, you heard the nomination of elector robert levy of the second district for president of the college. do i hear a second?

>> [no audio] >> any other nominations? hearing none, is there a motion to close the nominations? all those in favor of closing the nominations, vote aye. the ayes have it. moving to the election, all those in favor of a lot are robert levy of the second district so signify by saying aye. the ayes have it. collector robert levy will become the president of the 56 electoral college. and i asked mr. levy to please step up and take this position and preside over the remainder of the meeting. >> thank you, madame secretary. i thank the college for the

honor and privilege of serving as your president today. the floor is now open for the nominations for secretary of the electoral college. i recognize barbara hines of the seventh district for that purpose. is there a second? hearing a second -- are there any other nominations? hearing none, do i hear a motion that these nominations be closed? the motion having been made, that the nominations be closed, is there any objection to moving to an immediate vote? hearing none, all those in favor of william shillito as

being secretary, say aye. the eyes have it. i ask that mr. schiller auto -- shillito step up here. i now open the floor for the nomination of presidential teller and vice presidential teller. i recognize barry terry for that purpose. >> [indiscernible]

>> thank you. is there a second to those nominations? i recognize ms. hines. >> [indiscernible] >> are there any other nominations? hearing none, is there a motion to close the nominations? ms. hines? okay. is there any objection to clause in the nominations? hearing none, the nominations are closed. all in favor of the nominee please stay aye. all those opposed, saying they -- say nay. their folk -- -- therefore, mary

jo shepard has been elected to serve as presidential teller and doreen abernathy has been elected to serve as vice presidential teller. if you would please take your seats at the podium. the electoral college of north carolina, having been duly organized, balloting for vice- president and president of the united states will begin. i would like to recognize art pope for the purpose of nominating mitt romney for president of the united states. mr. pope? >> mr. president, members of the

electoral college, madam secretary, and my fellow citizens, it is my honor to place the nomination for president of the united states of america to governor mitt romney. governor romney has recognized the results of the 2012 election and has conceded the election and given his congratulations and offered his heartfelt support to president obama as president obama continues to lead our nation. as the secretary eloquently explained, it is a vital part of our constitutional government and in the checks and balances of our federal statement -- federal government that each state cast their votes for president. the majority of our citizens voted for the nominee of the republican party, governor mitt romney. governor romney has a long

record of service to our nation, public service, a volunteer service, and service in job- creating private enterprise. america has grown and prospered for private enterprise. the term enterprise includes the employers, the owners of the company, but also their employees as they all work together to serve the customer, the people of america. it is necessary that we work together and serve the people in innovative ways to lower the costs of a constantly changing world. as a young man, mitt romney graduated from harvard. rather than pursue his career as a lawyer, he chose business. in 1984, he founded bain capital, an investment firm. that is a firm that invested in small businesses and old businesses with the intent to grow them, create, and prosper. indeed, one of the very first investments that bain capital made was a small startup company, an office supply company in a massachusetts.

that company grew to have over 2000 bookstores and employ over 90,000 people with the slogan, we got that. that company was staples. to be successful, to grow a business, create and thousands of jobs, to save the customer money, and to give greater value for your shareholder, as mitt romney has done, is a service to america. by shareholders, i mean everybody, from the family saving and investing for their children's education, and our major funds that we rely on for our retirement. creating value to private enterprise as part of mitt romney's legacy of service. mitt romney could have been content with a very successful business career, yet brought his life, he also dedicated himself to volunteer service in our nation, to his community, and his church. mitt romney left bain capital to

answer our nation's call to help turn around the 2002 celtics of the olympic games. after the olympic games, mitt romney was elected as republican as governor of massachusetts, an overwhelmingly democratic state, by a democratic legislature. he enacted bipartisan reforms to close a multibillion-dollar state deficit without raising taxes, and at the same time, improving the education of massachusetts students. as the 2012 nominee for president, mitt romney brought a successful record of public service to the people, private enterprise experience, and principled solutions to meet the challenges our nation faces. the popular vote is over. as mitt romney said in his concession speech, this is a time of great challenges for america, and i pray that

president obama will be successful in getting our nation. as a true show of bipartisanship, i was going to quote again. at, this, we cannot risk partisan bickering. our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we the citizens also have to rise to the occasion. as another step beyond partisan bickering, it is my honor to place the nomination for you, the president of the united states, the name of mitt romney. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, mr. pope. is there a second to the nomination for mitt romney as president of the united states? i recognize michael esser of the fourth district to second the nomination. >> i second the nomination for

mitt romney as president of the united states. [applause] >> are there any other nominations for president of the united states? hearing none, do i hear a motion that the nominations be closed? mr. rubin? do i have a second? during the second, all those in favor of closing the nominations, please say aye. all those opposed, say nay. the nominations are closed. the balloting will proceed to president of the united states of america. will the presidential teller obtain the ballots from the secretary of state, which believe you have, and pass went to each elector -- one to each elector? please mark your ballots for president and the united states in writing with the name of the

candidate. please be sure to sign your ballot. what the balloting begins. -- let the balloting began -- begin..

>> would the presidential teller of mary jo shepherd now collect the ballots from the electors?

the secretary might need assistance, she needs it. mr. secretary. >> boats have been cast on december 17, 2012.

all 15 votes were for mitt romney as president of the united states of america. >> , very much. -- thank you very much. [applause] the electoral college votes have been taken for president of the united states. the results are now in. the floor is now open for nomination for vice president of the united states. i would like to recognize at this time james proctor of the first district for the purpose of nominating paul ryan for vice-president of the united states. [applause] >> mr. president, distinguished guests, electors, and i think i speak for all my fellow collectors when i say how honored we all feel to be here today in this historic chamber to participate in this ceremony was designed by our founding fathers to allow for the participation of the state's

equal and sovran branches of our federal republic or elections for president. i am pleased to nominate for the office of vice-president of the united states congressman paul ryan of wisconsin. congressman ron has been the most forceful and articulate voice capitol hill for a vital but simple proposition, that we must balance our federal budget or we will face impending economic disaster. even as we come together here today to certify the results of this election, make no mistake that this is a political battle that this country will fight again. i for one hope that this is not the last time we will hear congressman ryan kos unnamed nominated in this chamber, but regardless of who the messenger thisan's name nominated in

chamber, but regardless of who the messenger -- of with a messenger will be, we may face a catastrophe that neither side of the political aisle like to see. in conclusion, i am pleased to nominate congressman ryan of wisconsin or vice president, and i thank you for your time. [applause] >> the chair recognizes doty allen for the purposes of seconding the nomination. >> [indiscernible] [applause] >> are there any other nominations for vice-president of the united states of america? hearing none, is there a motion to close the nominations? mr. proctor? mr. proctor?